Home is Where You Are
by DatHeetJoella
Summary: A collection of unrelated MakoHaru fics , varying in length and rating. Every fic was written based off requests sent to me on Tumblr. Last fic added: Chapter 9: Glasses
1. Haru wearing Makoto's clothes

**Prompt: Haru wearing Makoto's clothes. Rating T**

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Neither of them could remember how it had started; it had been like this ever since they could remember.

Whenever one spent the night at the other's house, some clothes would be lent to the guest to sleep in. It was no problem when they were still kids, though Haru was a little taller than Makoto, they fit the same size so borrowing each other's pajamas was easier than bringing a pair of their own.

That was how it always had been and neither had ever questioned it.

Until one fateful day the sight of Haru wearing his clothes made Makoto question his entire existence.

It was a Friday evening and Haru was spending the night at Makoto's house like he did almost every week. After dinner they had gone to Makoto's room accompanied by Ran and Ren, who claimed that they were going to stay up all night with their brother and his friend, yet had fallen asleep before Makoto and Haru had selected which game they were going to play. Not long after that Mrs. Tachibana went to retrieve the two so she could brush their teeth and put them to bed. When she came back about half an hour she told them that the bath was ready for them. Knowing his best friend better than anyone, Makoto had offered Haru that he could go first and of course, Haru didn't need to be told twice. Without thinking he had pulled a shirt and a pair of shorts out of his dresser and handed them to Haru, who wordlessly accepted them and retreated to the bathroom.

So Makoto was left alone in his room and he continued to play a few rounds of the game as he waited for Haru to return.

Eventually Haru came back and Makoto turned his head towards him, about to ask him if the bathroom was free when all the thoughts in his head evaporated into thin air and the world stopped spinning as he laid his eyes upon the familiar figure that was his best friend.

His black hair was damp and tousled by his half-hearted attempts of drying it, his cheeks were flushed red by the steam of the hot water and that made his ocean blue eyes even more vibrant and breathtaking than usual, and though he looked absolutely beautiful right now, that was not what knocked the air out of Makoto's lungs, not what made every trace of his common sense disappear.

The shirt that Makoto had given Haru was too big for him, so big it was sagging off his shoulder and exposed the porcelain skin of his clavicle. It made Haru look smaller than he actually was as he was practically drowning in the material. The shorts weren't much better; the drawstring being the only thing preventing them from slipping off his hips, the fabric covering more of his slim legs than shorts should.

Ever since they had entered middle school Makoto had hit a huge growth spurt that made all of his clothes too small and thus Makoto's mother had taken him out shopping a week prior so he could wear things that actually fit him again. Before he had grown so much all of a sudden he was already a bit bigger than Haru, his clothes a size larger than his friend's so they were a bit too big on his slender frame , but it had never been so obvious. Not so obvious as it was right now.

For the first time upon witnessing his best friend in his clothes, something inside Makoto cracked. A surge of warmth rushed towards his face and his heart and he was overwhelmed by all sorts of feelings that he didn't know the meaning of.

Gaping at Haru like a fish out of water, Makoto was torn between averting his eyes and letting them wander over the beauty that was standing before him. Even though he knew the only reasonable option was the former, there was something in him that made him unable to do so.

"Something wrong?"

The sound of that stoic voice took him back to reality. Immediately he closed his mouth - that had fallen open without his awareness - and turned his head back towards the screen before him, noticing that he hadn't paused the game he was playing and realising how stupid he must have looked.

"I, uh, no, I-" he stuttered, trying to regain his composure, "I-I'm going to take a bath now," he evaded the question, his voice cracking like it did so often lately, which only added to his embarrassment as he jumped up and practically ran out of the room.

Once he was safely inside the bathroom, a deep sigh left his lips. He had no idea what was overcoming him all of a sudden; his heart was beating faster than it ever had, his body was tingling and his head was filled with nothing but images of Haru in his oversized clothes and thoughts of how cute and beautiful his friend had looked. It wasn't as if he didn't think his friend was beautiful or cute otherwise, because Haru had always been good-looking, but never before had it messed with Makoto's brain like it was doing right now. Hell, he had never felt like this before in general, about nothing and no one. Or maybe he had, but hadn't realised it until now.

Was this what it meant to be attracted to someone?

Only when his frantic heartbeat had returned to normal and he had regained somewhat of a composure, Makoto left the bathroom to join Haru in his bedroom. If Haru had noticed Makoto's odd behaviour, he had decided to be kind on his soul and not mention it.

They resumed with their game as if nothing had happened. The only difference was that Makoto couldn't stop his eyes from wandering every once in a while, letting him feast on the view of this beautiful boy in _his_ clothes and along with the knowledge that this beautiful boy was _his_ best friend made a flair of pride mixed with something he couldn't name shoot through his body.

Then Haru caught him staring and looked at him with a inquiring gaze, his eyebrows upturned and Makoto could read the same question he had asked before in those vivid eyes.

"It's nothing!" Makoto tried to brush off as blood rushed towards his cheeks. The pride he had felt soon changed into embarrassment and shame at being caught. Knowing he needed to recover himself, he explained, "I just, I was thinking that maybe you should bring your own clothes next time. Since mine are so big and all. I mean, that can't be comfortable right?" He had attempted to sound as nonchalant as possible, but it wasn't entirely working. Lady luck was not on his side tonight.

"Hmm." This noncommital hum was all the response he got, but knowing Haru, it was the best he was going to get.

Not a single word was spoken about the matter after that. Makoto did his best to get his mind off of this revelation of his and focus on the game instead, but it wasn't easy considering Haru was sitting right next to him, their bare knees touching.

It was hard, but eventually Makoto managed to drop the subject in his head and the night proceeded without any other hiccups. Now he just hoped that Haru would do as he had told him and would bring his own clothes the next time.

But Haru didn't. Every sleepover at the Tachibana residence that followed afterwards, Haru arrived without any clothes of his own, which left Makoto no choice but to lend him some of his own. He never commented on it; nothing was ever mentioned about that one night again.

At the time Makoto saw this habit of theirs as a curse disguised as a blessing, for knowing someone so gorgeous and captivating was sitting right next to him, wearing his clothes, but not being allowed to stare felt like pure torture, and this thought made him even more embarrassed about the whole thing than he already was.

As time passed and their relationship progressed, Makoto's opinion slowly changed and he began to acknowledge how much of a blessing this childhood habit of theirs actually was. He no longer felt flustered when he saw Haru in a shirt that was his or a pair of his shorts that was so big on his lithe body that it was exposing his hip bones. Of course, Haru still looked absolutely adorable and beautiful, that would never change and Makoto enjoyed every second of seeing him in his clothes. But rather than embarrassed and flustered, he now felt proud.

Proud that he was allowed to call someone as amazing as Haru his boyfriend.


	2. Test of Courage

**Prompt: Makoto and Haru doing a Test of Courage challenge during elementary school. Most common ones I know of involve going into a cave - Rating: G**

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Tears were burning in his forest green eyes, that were squeezed shut so he wouldn't have to look around himself. His knuckles had turned white because of how tightly he gripped the back of Haru's shirt, letting his friend guide him through the mostly dark cave.

This was not what Makoto had expected to happen on the overnight field trip the school had arranged for the third and fourth graders. He had been so excited that he almost couldn't sleep the night before, but if he would have known that this would happen, he would have gladly stayed at home.

The school had taken its students to the mountains in relation to the geography classes. During the day they had gotten a tour of one of the mountains, after which they were going to spend the night at the small inn at the bottom of the mountain that provided the tour. The tour itself had been a lot of fun, although it was a little exhausting to climb to the top of the mountain, Haru had been with him, and that made everything even better.

After dinner one of the teachers that had accompanied them on the field trip announced that a test of courage had been organised in one of the caves at the bottom of the mountain that was rumoured to be full of ghosts and spirits. Most of the children had been elated and had cheered, others were a little less enthusiastic, but Makoto felt his heart sink. Haru had been apathetic about the whole thing, but when he saw how pale his best friend was at the mention of the planned activity, his indifference turned into worry.

The teacher had said that anyone who was too afraid to accept the challenge was allowed to stay at the inn with one of the teachers, but none of the children raised their hand and though Makoto very much would have preferred to stay behind like the teacher had suggested, he didn't want to be the only one to chicken out. Besides that, he was sure that Haru would stay with him, and he didn't want to take away Haru's opportunity to prove himself as brave just because he was too much of a scardy-cat.

Against better knowledge, Makoto had kept his mouth shut and had gone along to the opening of the cave where they were divided into smaller groups of six. Luckily Haru was in his group so that made him feel a little more courageous, otherwise he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it out of the cave alive. Not that he was more excited now, he was still as unwilling as before, but everything was better when Haru was there.

Every group was handed two flashlights and they were the fourth group to enter the cave. Makoto watched the first three groups going inside minutes after each other, and his dread grew with every second that had passed. When it was time for their group to head inside, the two loudest and most liveliest of their group had gotten the flashlights and entered the cave before anyone else, with Haru and Makoto trailing behind a bit more reluctantly.

Almost immediately Makoto had taken a hold of the back of Haru's shirt, the contact making him feel a bit more secure.

That security didn't linger very long. Every echoing voice and every thud of footsteps made Makoto flinch, and then he started to hear things that he couldn't place, things that could mean only one thing. Ghosts.

His hold on the back of Haru's shirt tightened and for a second he was nailed to the floor, but the pull from Haru's continued steps made him go on as well. At some point he had closed his eyes, too afraid to look in front of him through the dimly lit cave, trusting Haru to guide the way.

If he had been anywhere else, he might have realised and acknowledged that his fears were irrational and that every sound that he heard was just the echoes of other children or teachers purposefully trying to scare them, but at that moment he sincerely believed that if he dared to open his eyes, he would see nothing but the white appearances of phantoms surrounding them, ready to strike and to take him with them to the underworld.

This thought only made him more scared and though he tried to tell himself to be brave for once, to prove to Haru that he wasn't a coward, he couldn't stop himself from trembling. The more he told himself to be valiant, the harder the quivering became. He was eight already, ghosts shouldn't scare him anymore. Haru wasn't scared of anything and he was only a few months older than Makoto. So he needed to do this, if not for himself, then for Haru. To prove that he wasn't a baby and that he was worthy of being Haru's best friend. He could do this. For Haru.

It didn't take much for his newfound resolve to crumble. When one of the boys in their group suddenly yelped, "Hey! Did you guys hear that?" Makoto was back to square one.

He was shaking so hard that Haru must be able to feel it through the jerks on his shirt. In order to prevent himself from crying, he bit his lip, which was also twitching with the onset of tears.

Just as he was about to give up trying and burst into tears, he felt a hand prying his off of Haru's shirt.

That was it. He had disappointed Haru. Haru knew just how much of a coward he really was and didn't want him to hold onto him any longer.

But instead of releasing his hand like Makoto had expected him to, Haru squeezed it.

This took Makoto by surprise and he opened his eyes in bewilderment, and he could see Haru's face, illuminated by the flashlights.

"Haru?" Makoto mumbled, his voice thick with unshed tears.

"It's okay," Haru assured. _It's okay to be scared._ "Don't worry. I'll protect you."

At those words Makoto's bottom lip started to tremble even more and he nodded, squeezing Haru's hand back. This was exactly what he had needed to hear and he clung to Haru's arm, burying his face in his shoulder as a few stray tears left his eyes and seeped into the cotton of Haru's shirt.

Although he was still scared, he believed that Haru would protect him from every evil spirit and ghost.

And if that night, Haru may have scooted quite a bit closer to Makoto's futon, then that was purely coincidental.


	3. Jealous Haru

**Prompt: jealous Haru - Rating: M**

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Twelve. This was the twelfth girl that confessed to Makoto. The twelfth time Makoto was late to practice because he had to turn down the feelings of some girl that didn't even know him well. The twelfth time someone thought there was a chance that Makoto might return their affections for one reason or another - and then he wasn't even counting the ones from middle school nor the few boys.

It was the twelfth time and Haruka had enough.

He was so tired of it. Tired of seeing a girl they didn't even know walk up to them, blushing and hesitantly asking if she could speak with 'Tachibana-kun' or 'Tachibana-senpai' alone for a second. Tired of seeing Makoto squirm in obvious discomfort because he knew what was going to happen, yet Makoto being Makoto, he was too polite to refuse them. Tired of having to go to practice by himself and explain to Nagisa, Rei and Kou that Makoto was rejecting yet _another_ girl. Tired of Makoto's time being wasted by girls who didn't even know him claiming that they were in love with him, which always resulted into Makoto feeling bad for 'hurting their feelings'. But most of all, he was tired of these girls thinking they actually had a chance with Makoto, that they actually had the hopes of being the one to stand next to him, that they could be the one to hold his hand and kiss his lips and be his. Like Haruka wasn't in the picture.

Although Makoto definitely wasn't a fan of public displays of affection, Haruka always did his best to let everyone know that Makoto was taken and therefore off-limits. It wasn't like he wasn't obvious enough; their friends frequently told them that they were acting like an old married couple and that they should get a room. But apparently, the not-so-subtle signs that Makoto was _his_ was not enough for these girls. They couldn't simply be airheads, because if they could notice Makoto, then they were perfectly able to notice the looming figure that was always beside him. So he didn't know if they were just plain stupid or if they just didn't care. Maybe both.

It wasn't like he blamed Makoto for this. He couldn't help it either that he was extremely good-looking and that his gentle aura attracted a lot of people. Unfortunately, a lot of people mistake Makoto's kindness towards everyone as flirting, which it is definitely not - if they had known Makoto better, then they would have known that this was just how Makoto was. This caused a lot of girls - and some boys too - to feel special when Makoto picked up the pencil that they had dropped or if he explained a part of some homework assignment or if he simply smiled at them. It didn't take long for someone to fall hard for Makoto, or so it seemed, and with the person's friends adding fuel to the fire by convincing them that Makoto liked them too was what resulted into Makoto having to turn them down in the nicest way possible, which sometimes made traces of hope that one day Makoto would feel the same about them linger. Of course Makoto never would.

And it wasn't even as if he didn't understand these girls, on the contrary, he understood them better than anyone else. Makoto was kind, handsome, muscular, gentle, clever, tall, sweet, and so much more. He had it all and that made him seem like the perfect boyfriend - obviously Makoto wasn't perfect, he had flaws just like everyone else, but Haruka loved every single one of those too. So yes, he completely understood why these girls started to develop feelings for Makoto at one point or another. That didn't mean that he liked it though.

Perhaps the thing that he hated most about this whole issue was the feeling it gave him, this gnawing feeling in his stomach that made it feel like there was venom coursing through his veins. This ugly feeling that made him unable to think about anything else, even though he was in the water, his irritation that bordered anger shining through in his stroke, like he was fighting the water instead of embracing it.

This had to stop. It had gone on for far too long and Haruka was done with it. He had to show the world that Makoto was _his_ , _his_ and nobody else's. It was time for him to take a more drastic course of action.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

After swim practice Makoto and Haruka walked home together like they always did, their fingers intertwined and swinging loosely between them. Unlike usually, when Kou blew the whistle to signal the end of practice, Haruka didn't stay in the pool to swim a couple of extra laps or to float around in his element a little longer. Instead he waited at the pool's edge for Makoto's hand to reach out and pull him out of the water. A questioning look had appeared on Makoto's face but he did what Haruka wanted of him, and as soon as Haruka was on land again, he softly called out his name. No response was given and Haruka brushed past him and stalked off towards the changing room. This showed Makoto that it was no use to question him any further for now, and that he would eventually be told when Haruka felt the need to. So he didn't press on and just followed after his boyfriend.

Now they were on their way home, Haruka was just staring off into the distance, his eyes on the sparkling ocean that the setting sun was illuminating. Not a single word was spoken on his part, but he was rubbing soft circles on Makoto's hand with his thumb, so Makoto knew that he didn't need to worry about how quiet he was being.

For once, Makoto didn't feel the need to fill up the silence between them with light chatter. Instead, he was content with just watching his boyfriend. How the pink and orange hues intermingled to form the evening sky, sending shimmers of light to reflect on the surface of the dark blue ocean, painting the perfect scenery to accompany the breathtaking beauty that was Nanase Haruka. The sight brought a sweet smile to Makoto's face; a soft sigh slipping through his lips because the amount of love he felt was just too much to contain in his body, his heart overflowing with affection.

He couldn't wait until they were home so he could hold his love in his arms, expressing just how happy Haruka made him by a shower of gentle kisses raining down onto him. He was already looking forward to it.

Little did he know that Haruka had planned for things to go a bit differently.

As soon as the front door was closed, Haruka wasted no second before he pressed Makoto against it, his lips on his in a hard, hungry kiss, their teeth clashing together with the force that he put into it which Makoto hadn't been prepared for. This kiss was very different from the ones they usually shared. More often than not, their kisses were sensual and tender, driven by love rather than wanton. Nothing like the wild roughness that was dripping from this one.

Taken aback by Haruka's sudden behaviour, Makoto tried to put some space between the two of them but Haruka wasn't having any of it and pushed harder, like he was trying to devour Makoto's lips.

"Haru- what-" Makoto started, but was ultimately cut off by Haruka's mouth.

It wasn't as if he didn't like it when Haruka was more assertive or even dominant in their relationship, because he very much did, but it was taking him by surprise as he didn't expect Haruka to act so bold all of a sudden. It wasn't exactly what he had been counting on when he noticed the change in Haruka's demeanour.

Haruka kicked his shoes off and Makoto struggled to do the same when a tug on his tie made him stumble forward. Another jerk pulled him out off the genkan, being led through the hallway and up the stairs by his tie, his brain trying to catch up to what was going on while simultaneously trying to prevent him from tripping over his own feet at the way Haruka tugged him forward.

When they reached Haruka's room - without falling down the stairs, luckily - Makoto was pushed backwards until he was lying down on the bed with his front facing upwards. Haruka climbed on top of him and straddled him before continuing with his harsh kissing like he had never stopped, cupping Makoto's face with both hands.

This time, however, Makoto had been expecting it and eagerly reciprocated, his hands finding Haruka's ass and squeezing his cheeks zealously through the cloth. Although this roughness was nothing like their usual sedate way of love-making, it was a nice change for once. Instead of taking their sweet time with each other, there was now no second to spare for the need to feel each other was too much, too much to control in the lustful haze that had befallen both of them.

But even in his lecherous state, Haruka had not lost sight of his goal.

Breaking the kiss, Haruka sat up and placed his hands on Makoto's torso, grinding down into Makoto's crotch. A soft, pleased hum rumbled through Makoto's chest his hands drifting from Haruka's ass to his thighs, caressing them through the fabric of his trousers as he watched how Haruka loosened his tie and pulled it off quickly, enjoying the almost erotic sight and already anticipating what would happen next.

Then Haruka continued with Makoto's tie, skillfully untying it and throwing it to the floor before he grabbed the collar of Makoto's shirt and yanked him forward to crash their lips together again. Another roll of his hips made Makoto moan softly and Haruka took the opportunity to deepen the kiss once more, slipping his tongue inside Makoto's mouth and enticing a second moan from his boyfriend. Makoto submitted to him, allowing him to take charge and set the pace, matching it and fervently returning his actions.

Haruka undid the top few buttons of Makoto's shirt as quickly as he could without ripping them off, rubbing his ass against Makoto's crotch again, feeling his erection swell through their clothes. A pleased smirk wanted to appear on Haruka's face and he tried his best to suppress it as he trailed down from Makoto's lips to his chin and jaw, altering between kissing and gently nipping at the skin.

Makoto's hands roamed over Haruka's back, digging his nails lightly into his flesh in his need to find leverage as Haruka's sinful mouth licked and sucked at his neck. His neck was incredibly sensitive and every feather-light touch made him squirm. In the early stages of their intimate relationship this meant that Haruka wasn't allowed to touch or kiss his neck because it was too ticklish, but as time passed and they experimented more, Haruka found out how he could use Makoto's sensitivity to his adventage. Now he knew exactly which buttons to press to make Makoto fall apart in his arms, easily unravelling him and pushing him over the edge. Of course, this went both ways and Makoto also knew what to do to make him come undone with a mere twitch of his fingers - whether this was a good thing or a bad thing depended heavily on the situation at hand.

When Makoto suddenly brushed his fingers lightly over his nape while simultaneously meeting Haruka's hips with a thrust of his own, Haruka had to swallow a moan of his own, the touch and friction sending a bolt of arousal through his body. Although he very much wanted to give in and speed things up, he knew he couldn't do that. He was a man on a mission and he wouldn't stop until he had accomplished it. So he repressed the lust and want in him and focused on what he was supposed to do.

He took a sliver of skin just below Makoto's jaw between his teeth and began to suck rather harshly, only stopping when Makoto whimpered lightly. A nice, red mark had appeared on Makoto's neck, contrasting with his tan skin and a small smirk made its way to Haruka's face. Not wanting to let Makoto notice it, he quickly continued with the next patch of skin, repeating the process.

Usually they were very careful about leaving visible marks and hickeys. They were swimmers and spent a lot of time being half-naked in public surrounded by others. Though their relationship was no secret and everyone they cared about knew they were together, but that didn't mean that they had to physically show or flaunt the aftermath of their personal activities. It bothered Makoto more than Haruka, but of course Haruka always respected the wishes of his boyfriend. However, this time it was different. He wasn't happy to do something that he knew would make Makoto uncomfortable and embarrassed, but he knew he had no other choice. He had to show everyone once and for all that Makoto was _his_ , so everyone would back off already.

Of course, he had to be tactical about it. If he were to randomly suck on Makoto's neck out of nowhere, then Makoto would be suspicious and tell him to cut it out. So he had to make sure Makoto was too far gone and way too into it to stop him.

Proceeding with his series of marks, he went to the base of Makoto's throat, purposefully sucking even harder than he had before, leaving a purple bruise behind. It was his intention to make a contrast from one mark to the other, so that it looked like some were more faded and therefore older than the darker, 'fresher' ones. These darker ones would also linger longer, so in case someone missed it one day, they were sure to see it the next.

Just as he was about to bite down on Makoto's right collar bone, Makoto's phone rang, vibrating in his pocket.

"Ignore it," he hastily muttered. It was the first thing he had said since the girl had come up to them earlier that afternoon. To ensure that Makoto would do what he had told him to, Haruka thrust downwards and captured his lips at the same time, kissing him just the way that he knew Makoto liked.

Hands drifted to his ass again as Makoto hummed lustfully into the kiss, reciprocating eagerly and squeezing his cheeks as he rolled his hips into Haruka's, making both of their erections grow harder and strain against the restriction their pants provided.

Haruka's lips went back to Makoto's clavicle and he bit down like he had wanted to do earlier and Makoto ran his fingers through Haruka's hair, encouraging him to continue. When he saw his teeth imprinted into Makoto's skin, he trailed down even further, leaving small marks and bites down his chest. In order to avoid raising any suspicion, he kissed Makoto's nipple before licking and sucking it, coaxing another moan from Makoto's lips.

Then he descended further down Makoto's torso, undoing the buttons of his shirt before sucking bruises and nibbling on the skin covering his ribs, abs and sides. As he was getting closer to the hem of Makoto's trousers, Makoto's breathing got heavier and heavier, his length pressing against Haruka's chest.

At that moment, Makoto's phone rang again.

"Ah, that's probably my mom," Makoto suddenly said as he withdrew his arms and pushed himself up a bit, leaning on his forearms. "I forgot to tell you, but she asked us to come over for dinner tonight. She's probably wondering where we are."

Silently Haruka cursed. He loved Makoto's family, he really did, but this was not exactly what he had been counting on when he had started this marking of his. He had planned to ask Makoto to spend the night when they were done, so that by the time he noticed the hickeys he would have no choice but to go to school but would be able to cover them up for his family. Of any day Mrs. Tachibana could have asked them to come over for dinner, why did it have to be today?

"We should probably head over soon. They'll be worried."

Taking a moment to weigh down his options, Haruka glanced down Makoto's body. From his neck to his hips he was littered with bruises and bitemarks, varying from soft pink to angry red to dark purple. He was pretty content with the results.

"Can we at least finish this first?" Haruka asked. During his ambush he had forced himself to focus on accomplishing his goal, and now that he had he wanted to give in to his desires. He had ignored them up until now, but he was so hard that it hurt and he was pretty sure Makoto felt the same way. Though part of this had been an act so he could mark Makoto without any questions being asked, he did really want Makoto. How could he ever not?

"Alright," Makoto obliged, "but we have to be quick."

Haruka nodded vigorously and he leaned forward to wrap his arms around Makoto's neck and pulled him into another passionate kiss.

After all his hard work, Haruka definitely deserved a reward.

As soon as they were done and were both satisfied they quickly washed up before they put on some casual clothes, Makoto making sure that he took his school uniform back to his house and that he actually took _his_ and not Haruka's. In their haste to get ready Makoto didn't notice any of the marks on his body.

When they were both presentable again they left Haruka's house and started to trek towards Makoto's.

Upon arriving at the Tachibana residence, Makoto opened the front door and called out, "We're home!"

Immediately the patter of footsteps echoed through the hallway as Ran and Ren ran towards them, greeting their brother and honourary brother. Along with them came Mrs. Tachibana, who walked out of the living room.

"There you are," she said, " I was wondering what took you so... long."

After pausing mid-sentence, a smug look suddenly appeared on her face, seeming like she was trying very hard to suppress a smirk. Like she knew a secret that no one else knew.

"Go sit down at the table. Dinner's almost ready," she informed them, unable to keep a hint of a smile out of her voice.

Everyone did as she had suggested and followed her back into the living room with adjoint kitchen. Sitting down at the table, they chatted for a bit with Mrs. Tachibana and the twins.

Then Ren suddenly yelped, "Whoa, Onii-chan. You have a huge mosquito bite on your neck."

That's when the reason for Mrs. Tachibana's smugness hit Haruka. She had seen the bites, and she knew they weren't from a mosquito. She knew the reason they were late was because they were having sex. Although Haruka was not one to be easily ashamed - with stripping in public and all - he had to admit that he was feeling pretty embarrassed right then.

"Yeah!" Ran exclaimed when she saw what her twin was pointing out. "Does it itch?"

"Mosquito bite?" Makoto questioned in bewilderment and he raised his hand towards his neck.

Haruka could pinpoint the exact moment Makoto realised what his siblings were referring to. His expression fell and he became very pale all of a sudden, like all the life was drained from him in the matter of a second. A dark blush lit up Haruka's face and he kept his head down, purposefully keeping his eyes averted from Makoto - and everyone else - and hoping that he wouldn't have to meet his gaze.

"There's another one here," Ran said as she gestured to Makoto's throat.

"Wow!" Ren gasped, "That one is purple!"

"Purple?" Mrs. Tachibana questioned innocently, playing along with her children. "That must have been a _huge_ mosquito, then."

All of this made Haruka seriously question whether or not his jealous action had been worth it, for he now ended up not only with the wrath of his boyfriend, but also with the fact that he could never look his mother-in-law in the eyes ever again.

But when he saw the shocked and upset faces of their classmates the next day, he felt proud of himself again.

Totally worth it.


	4. Kano

**Prompt: Hi, this is for the inktober fest. Makoto finds out he was adapted and his biological parents told him his real name was "Kano" which means "Water God." So a drabble of Haru's reaction to Makoto being a "Water God" name wise.**

 **It's related to the crossover idea I've posted before with Code Geass. SuzaLulu were Makoto's biological parents and there's MPREG involve. You can use other ships for the biological parents. You can create your own characters. It doesn't have to be MPREG.**

 **Sorry this is so long for a prompt. Thank you!**

 **A/N: When I first received this prompt, I was a little hesitant, to be honest. It was not something that I personally would have thought of, and it's not exactly your typical prompt, but after pondering for a while I found it to be very interesting because of those reasons. It was challenging, which was kind of the point of these drabbles, right?**

 **I decided not to go with SuzaLulu, mainly because I haven't seen Code Geass in ages and I kind of want to keep things just in a Free!-like universe. I hope you understand.**

 **Either way, I hope you'll like it!**

 **Rating: G**

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Something was wrong. It was a Saturday afternoon, a little after lunch, and he hadn't heard anything from Makoto all day. Usually on Saturdays and Sundays he would drop by early in the morning so they could play at his home or outside, or sometimes Makoto would call to ask if he would come over to play at his house instead. Makoto was always the one to take the initiative. It's not like Haruka didn't want to, but Makoto always did. That was just how it was. So now that Makoto hadn't shown up or called, Haruka was worried. And he wasn't the only one.

"Have you heard anything from Mako-chan today?" his grandmother asked, "He should have been here by now. Did he tell you he wasn't coming?"

"No," Haruka responded to both questions.

"You should go to him instead, then. Maybe something's wrong," she suggested, and when she read the worry in her grandson's eyes, she continued, "Or maybe something came up and he forgot to tell you. But you won't know if you sit here sulking all day. Go to him."

Although he thought it hadn't been obvious that he was displeased about the fact that his best friend hadn't come to see him, his grandmother was always able to look right through his stoic demeanour. There was no one who knew him better than his grandmother after all. Besides Makoto, maybe.

Knowing that she was right, Haruka nodded before he got up, bidding his grandmother goodbye as he left the room and went to the genkan to put on his shoes. Then he left the house, beginning the short journey to the Tachibana residence in the hopes of finding Makoto there. He didn't have to walk for long until he found who he was looking for.

There, at the bottom of the staircase that separated their homes, sat Makoto.

Since it was so unlike Makoto to just sit on the steps all by himself, Haruka's concern grew. He descended the stairs until he was about halfway down, and then he stopped.

"Makoto," he called out, waiting for his friend to look his way and respond.

Broken. That was what Makoto looked like when he turned around and met Haruka's gaze. Like his entire world had fallen apart, crumbled into pieces that he couldn't put back together no matter how hard he tried. Like everything he thought to be true turned out to be a lie. He wasn't even crying. Instead of tears, there was emptiness in his forest green eyes.

That was what terrified Haruka the most. Makoto's eyes were always so bright and lively, shining with joy and showing nothing but happiness. But now they were dull, something they never were, not even when Makoto tripped down the stairs or scraped his knee when he fell on the pavement. He would always cry when that happened, but as soon as there was a band-aid with cartoon figures over the wound, everything would be better and he would giggle again.

Haruka didn't know what was going on, but he knew it was something that couldn't simply be fixed with a mere forehead kiss or a bar of chocolate.

Grandmother had been right, something was wrong. And if he hadn't listened to her, then Makoto would have been left here to suffer all by himself. That was not what Haruka wanted, he wanted Makoto to feel better and laugh again. To see the smile that made him feel warm inside. And in order to do that, he needed to find out what it was that made Makoto so sad, so that he could take it away and if that wasn't possible, then he could at least shoulder the burden with him.

Thus he walked further down the stairs and sat down beside his friend. Although the thing he wanted most was to ask Makoto what was wrong, he knew it would be better to wait until Makoto was ready to tell him himself. So he did just that.

After a long period of silence Makoto spoke, his voice quivering and he was still keeping his head down, hugging his knees as he stared at them.

"My parents," he began, "they talked to me this morning and..." he trailed off, finding it difficult to put his thoughts into words and tell his best friend about them. "They t-told me that I'm- that I'm adopted."

Adopted? Haruka knew what that meant, he had heard about it before, but he didn't think that Makoto was adopted. There was never any sign that he was, because to Haruka, he did look like his parents. So this took Haruka by surprise, but he didn't have much time to be bewildered by it before Makoto continued.

"And they told me, that my bi-bio-"

"Biological," Haruka helped.

"My biological mother died right after I was born. And that she told the doctors and nurses that my name would be 'Kano'."

Kano. Haruka repeated the name a few times in his head. Kano. It was not a bad name, in fact Haruka thought it was a very nice name. Definitely not a bad name to have. But somehow, he thought that it didn't fit Makoto. It was probably because he wasn't used to it, but he just thought that a name like 'Makoto' fit Makoto so much better. 'Sincerity' was so much more like his best friend than 'Water God'. The name would also be a bit ironic, because how could a boy who is afraid of water be called 'Water God'?

All this time, Makoto hadn't looked at him, only staring downwards at his shoes as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He looked like he had more to say, more that was weighing on his mind, but he just couldn't get the words to come out. It felt like it was something that was close to his heart, something that was really bothering him, but it was more than that. Hesitation. Almost as if he was afraid to tell Haruka, his best friend who he could tell everything.

In silence Haruka waited until he had found the right way to phrase it.

"I just," he tried, "I just don't know who I am anymore."

He sounded so, _so_ lost that Haruka could feel something inside himself break. It hurt him so much to see Makoto struggle with something like this, something that he shouldn't have to worry about. Because even if he understood that this was a lot to take in for Makoto, to suddenly hear that his parents weren't his biological parents and that his name was supposed to be something else, to Haruka, it didn't change a thing.

"Makoto is Makoto."

It was not the best thing he could have said, considering the circumstances, but he had meant it. To him, Makoto was still Makoto, whether he was adopted or not, whether his name was 'Makoto' or 'Kano'. None of it mattered to Haruka, because the boy sitting beside him was still his best friend, the boy he was growing up with, the person who he loved the most, and that would never change. No matter what.

Luckily, Makoto understood what he had meant with his words. For the first time, he looked up at Haruka and mumbled, "Haru-chan..."

Somewhere within the green valley of emptiness, Haruka could see a flare of hope ignighting, like a ray of light at the end of the tunnel, a shimmer that would guide Makoto out of the darkness. Eventually.

Reaching out his hand, Haruka softly petted Makoto's hair, like his grandmother always did to him when he was upset. It was his way of silently telling Makoto that everything would be okay.

In response Makoto's bottom lip began to tremble slightly and he wrapped his arms around Haruka's neck, pulling him in for a hug. Knowing that that was what Makoto needed at the moment, he snaked his own arms around Makoto's waist and began to rub his back in a comforting way.

For a little while they sat there, with short arms around small bodies, in an embrace that held more meaning than any they had ever shared before.

Makoto took a deep breath before he withdrew his arms. Then he said, "Thanks, Haru-chan," with a tiny smile on his face.

The storm inside Makoto wasn't over yet, it would continue to rage inside of him for quite some time, but Haruka could tell that he felt a little bit better than he had before.

There was still one question that he needed to ask, even if he didn't know if it would dampen Makoto's mood again, he knew he had to ask it.

"What do you want me to call you from now on?"

"I don't know," Makoto muttered, "I don't want to disrespect my biological mother, but I don't want to disrespect my parents either. So I'm not sure."

"You don't have to decide right now," Haruka offered, "You can think about it some more."

"Alright."

"Do you want to go to the playground?" Haruka asked. Perhaps it would help Makoto to get his mind off of everything. Or maybe Makoto didn't want to get his mind off of it yet and wanted to remain seated here. Whichever he picked, Haruka was fine with it, intending to be there for his friend.

"Okay," Makoto said as he stood up and patted off his pants. Haruka got up and did the same. Then, he held out his hand and Makoto took it, squeezing it lightly before they began to go down the rest of the stairs, heading towards the playground.

In the end, Makoto decided to stick with the name 'Makoto'. Although he still didn't want to disrespect his biological mother and her wishes, he didn't know her, and though he really appreciated the fact that she gave birth to him, he had a hard time loving someone he would never get to know. His parents, on the other hand, had taken care of him since he was a newborn baby, had loved and cared for him as if he were their own son - which he was. The fact that he was adopted didn't mean that he loved them any less, perhaps he loved them even more, because they really chose to have _him_. He respected the time and effort they had put into giving him his name, so he wanted to keep it. Besides, he was so used to this name and he liked it, so it would be weird for him to suddenly change it.

Later on Haruka found out that the reason Makoto's parents decided to tell him that he was adopted was because they had wanted to adopt another child. A short while after that they adopted Makoto's brother and sister, Ren and Ran, twins who were eight months old. Makoto had been overjoyed with the new additions to his family, and he was proud that he got to be their older brother.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! ^^**

 **Sorry if the focus kind of shifted from the whole name thing to the adoption itself, but I just found it interesting to play a little more into that. The reason I 'killed' Makoto's biological mother is because I think Makoto would be the kind of child that would get extremely insecure if this happened to him, and I wanted to spare him of that.**

 **And I'm sorry, when I first read this prompt I had to laugh because 'kano' means 'canoe' in my native language. I had to imagine Makoto telling Haru his name is actually 'canoe' and that's a little silly. I'm sorry!**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll have a nice day and that I'll see you at the next drabble! :)**


	5. Kissing in the Rain

**A/N: Prompt: Makoharu prompt: kissing in the rain**

 **This prompt was exactly the type of fluffy, A+ material that I was looking for, so I hope I did it justice! ^^**

 **Sidenote: It's not really Oktober anymore and I obviously couldn't do a drabble a day, but I still intend to write a drabble for every single day of Oktober, so I'll just call it HaruMakotober instead. If you have a request or prompt that you would like me to write, then this is your chance to submit it to me on my tumblr (datheetjoella)**

 **Rating: T**

 **I hope you'll enjoy! ^^**

* * *

They were walking home from school when it started to rain. Within seconds it changed from a soft drizzle to a straight downpour. It was so sudden; it hadn't been forecasted so neither of them had taken an umbrella.

Taking a look around themselves, it was easy to conclude that there was nowhere to take shelter in this area. Therefore it didn't take long until they were both soaked down to the bone.

There was nothing left for them to do but to try to get home as quickly as possible so they could get warm and dry - at least, that was what Makoto thought.

He was getting ready to make a run for it, taking a few steps forward with the intention of gaining speed, when he realised Haruka wasn't following. So he stopped and turned back around to his friend, who hadn't moved an inch since it had begun to pour.

"Haru?" Makoto called, but Haruka didn't respond. A fond sigh escaped his lips with a small shake of his head. Of all times his best friend had to stop to connect with the water, it had to be now, hadn't it?

Except that Haruka hadn't stopped to feel the rain.

Before Makoto realised what was going on, Haruka's lips were on his, his hands lightly gripping the front of his wet shirt. At that moment, Makoto's brain short-circuited. Every single thought vanished in an instant. His eyes grew wide and he was frozen on the spot, unable to do anything but stand there.

It felt like he was dreaming, for this was something straight out of a romance movie - and his own daydreams. Never in his life had expected that something like this would happen; he had loved Haruka since before he could remember, but it had never been his intention to act on his feelings. The bond they shared was one in which they both felt safe and comfortable, their friendship more precious than anything else in their worlds. Although Makoto would have liked to have more, he was content just as they were. It was enough for him, and he treasured the relationship and dynamic they had. Why change anything about it?

Apparently Haruka felt differently. And only now did Makoto realise how stupid he had been. Butterflies were shooting through his belly and his heart was beating as fast as it did after a two hundred meter race. He was so incredibly overwhelmed by his own feelings and with the addition of _Haruka's lips against his_ , Makoto's mind couldn't form any type of correct reaction to this gesture, this moment that Haruka decided to show him what he wanted.

The lack of response to his kiss was interpreted by Haruka as rejection and he began to withdraw. Even though Makoto's brain hadn't quite caught up yet with what was going on, his body knew better than to let that happen; he couldn't let Haruka think that his feelings were one-sided, when they most definitely were not.

His left arm wound itself around Haruka's waist and his right hand came up to cup the back of Haruka's head as he pressed back against his lips, adding a soft pressure to the close-mouthed kiss. A tiny gasp of surprise rumbled through Haruka's chest, but then he reached up to wrap his arms around Makoto's neck, shortening the distance between their bodies.

Neither had any idea what they were doing because it was their first kiss, but they would figure it out together; after all, they were two bodies in perfect harmony.

Instinctively they parted their lips a little, their heads tilting slightly as their mouths slowly, gently moved against each other. Although this was definitely his first kiss, everything felt so natural to Makoto, like his lips knew exactly what to do, even though he didn't. Like it was second-nature to them, as if they had been made only to kiss Haruka.

It felt so good, so indescribably good, that they both had forgotten the rain that was pouring down on them. They were unable to feel the cold water because they were on fire on the inside, like their lips were igniting a spark that set their bodies ablaze. The entire world around them disappeared, and it was only them, Haruka and Makoto, their bodies connected by the touch of a tender kiss.

The movies definitely hadn't exaggerated, because even if there weren't any fireworks, Makoto could practically hear them, could feel them inside of him, bursting with happiness, joy and love.

Love. That was the feeling he was experiencing the most. Pure, unadulterated love for the beautiful boy in his arms, the person who he loved more than anyone, more than anything. And he was doing his best to show him, to let every bit of his affection seep into the kiss to be conveyed through their lips. The knowledge that Haruka felt the exact same way, made him happier than he could ever attempt to put into words.

As they got the hang of it, their kiss gradually began to speed up, even more passion and yearning flowing through their lips. Their hold on each other shifted, the need to feel each other close growing stronger. Makoto's arms tightened around Haruka's waist, pulling their bodies flush together and Haruka ran his fingers through Makoto's wet hair.

Then Makoto felt Haruka's tongue against his mouth, licking his bottom lip to ask for permission to enter. Naturally Makoto granted him permission, opening his mouth to let Haruka's tongue inside. He practically melted on the spot when Haruka's tongue touched his. It was so hot, so soft, _so good_ , that Makoto didn't sound coherent anymore, even to himself. Everything was so overwhelming, because it wasn't just the kiss, not just the soft, plush lips pressing against his, not just the wetness of his hot tongue or even the fact that it was actually Haruka he was kissing that was blowing him off his feet. While, yes, that was very much knocking his socks off and making his stomach tingle with feelings that had yet to be voiced, there was more to it than that. It was the meaning that this kiss held, the intimate moment that was the turning point not only in their relationship, but in their lives as well. All of that made Makoto feel so much that he could cry. Tears of overwhelming emotion, of happiness, of love, that could cascade down his cheeks and intermingle with the rain. He would have cried them, if only he weren't as busy with kissing Haruka. _His_ Haruka.

And at the other end of the kiss there was Haruka, who was experiencing the same rush of emotion and a mind-blowing amount of love.

He had loved Makoto for so long, for as long as he could remember, and he had wanted to do something about these feelings of his, but he just didn't know how. Fear had been a small factor, because the thought of Makoto possibly rejecting him and the chance that their friendship would be ruined because of it made him hesitant to confess. Even if he knew Makoto wouldn't just stop being his friend just because he was in love with him, it would probably be awkward and uncomfortable after that, which were feelings that didn't fit them and their relationship at all. But even though this played at the back of his mind, he knew that he wanted this, that he wanted them to be more than friends.

Earlier that afternoon he had been swimming his laps in the pool like he always did, but his mind wasn't on swimming for once. He had been contemplating his feelings for Makoto and the fact that he wanted to be in a relationship with him. He knew that if he wanted this, then he had to take the first step and speak up about his feelings, because even if Makoto did return his feelings, he knew Makoto would never take the initiative when it came to progressing their relationship. So he had to be the one to do something, but he had been procrastinating it because he never saw a good opportunity to do it. He was tired of running away from his feelings for Makoto, so he had asked the water to give him a sign; a sign that would tell him to just do it.

When the rain suddenly began to fall, Haruka knew that that was the sign; the sign that the time had come to let Makoto know how he felt. Gathering up his courage, he was left to think of what to say. That had always been something that he lacked in; the most important of times he was left speechless, unable to come up with the right words to express his feelings. Usually this was something that Makoto helped him out with, but in this case, he was definitely on his own. Even if he couldn't find the words, he wasn't about to let this moment slip away. After all his determination and the blessing of the water, he wouldn't let his own shortcomings hold him back.

So Haruka decided to let his actions speak louder than any stumbling words could.

When Makoto hadn't responded to his kiss at first, Haruka could feel his insides freeze over, especially because he had been hopeful that Makoto felt the same about him. Disappointment, pain and heartache had washed over him in the course of a split second and he started to pull back, but then Makoto had pressed back, reciprocating his kiss and all of worries dissolved into thin air and made place for euphoria.

From then on he had poured everything he felt into the kiss, wanting, _needing_ Makoto to know exactly how he felt. Every feeling he conveyed was returned and he understood that Makoto very much felt the same as he did, could feel it with his every touch.

They had never needed words anyway.

At this point Haruka's feet began to hurt because he was standing on his tippy toes and Makoto's neck was also aching from bending a bit downwards, yet the last thing they wanted was to end their kiss, to break the contact their lips had been craving forever. Neither of them knew if it was Makoto who lifted him or if Haruka had jumped himself, but from one moment to the next Haruka was in Makoto's arms, his legs wrapped around his waist and Makoto held him up, their bodies as close as physically possible in this position, yet it still wasn't enough.

Desperate for more, they kissed harder, fervently and dripping with passion. Yearning for more contact, more _Makoto_ , Haruka's hands wandered over Makoto's face, his back, his hair, anywhere he could reach. If Makoto hadn't been too busy with holding him up, he might have done the same, but he didn't want to risk dropping him.

Eventually they had no choice but to end their kiss, for the lack of air was really starting to get to them. They had the advantage of having swimmers' lungs, but even then they had to run out of breath at some point, especially because the kiss itself had been nothing short of absolutely breathtaking.

Cupping his face, Haruka stole two quick kisses from Makoto's lips after they broke apart, unable to immediately part completely from his addicting lips. Then, he leaned their foreheads together, staring into each other's eyes and breathing the same air as their wet fringes trickled raindrops onto their faces, but neither of them cared.

"Haru," Makoto dreamily sighed, sounding completely enchanted.

All of a sudden the words he had been unable to say came rushing out of him all at once.

"I love you, Makoto," he murmured and he wrapped his arms around Makoto's neck again and he buried his face into his drenched shoulder, "I love you so much."

At Haruka's confession a huge, bright smile lit up Makoto's face and he hugged Haruka even tighter against himself. Then, he suddenly began to spin the both of them around, startling Haruka and making him dig his nails into Makoto's soaked shirt for leverage.

"Makoto!" he yelped, but all he could hear was Makoto's joyous laughter.

"Haru. Haru. _Haru,_ " Makoto repeated, his voice light and cheerful, "I love you too, Haru. So much. I love you so much!"

The verbal affirmation made Haruka lean his head backwards so he could look at Makoto's face. Forest green eyes were dancing with glee, sparkling with elation, but most of all, shining with love.

An uncharacteristic but wide smile stretched Haruka's face at the sight, feeling too much exhilaration and bliss to contain inside of him. He began to press a series of chaste, quick kisses against Makoto's lips, and even though Makoto wasn't capable of kissing back because of his laughter, Haruka knew that the feelings he was expressing with it were not turned down.

Rain was still heavily falling down upon them, but neither of them could find the need to care. All that mattered at that moment was that they were together, now in every sense of the word.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked it! :)**

 **Because what's better than kissing in the rain? _First_ kiss in the rain.**

 **To be informed of my writing or my MakoHaru thoughts in general you can follow me on Tumblr at datheetjoella or on Twitter at DatHeetJoella**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope to see you at the next drabble!**

 **Have a lovely day!**


	6. Playing with Ren and Ran

**Prompt: MakoHaru playing with Ren and Ran**

 **Rating: T**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

A sigh left Haruka's lips as he was doodling in the corner of his notebook. He was so incredibly bored. It was summer and he wanted to go swimming, but alas it was raining hard outside and it didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon. Therefore Makoto had proposed that they should start on their summer homework so they would get it done early and wouldn't have to do it last minute or when the sun was shining.

So now they were sitting in Makoto's room at opposite ends of the table, books and papers spread between them. The benefit of doing homework together was that they could help each other out, explaining things when one of them didn't understand something and the other did, trying to figure it out together if neither of them understood the subject. The downside, though, was that Haruka was even more easily distracted than usually.

They had been attempting to finish the English worksheet they had been assigned, but they were both absolutely terrible at English, so bad that if they tried to figure things out together, they'd only end up being more confused. Which is why they had been sitting in silence as they both tried to decipher the enigma that was the English language.

It didn't take long for Haruka to lose interest and give up, so he had grabbed his notebook and began to draw on an empty page. The only good part about doing homework in the summer was that Makoto was here, completely unaware of the fact that he was Haruka's model.

He was wearing his glasses, the dark frames accentuating how green and vibrant his eyes were - which in Haruka's defense, made it even harder for him to concentrate because whenever Makoto wore them he felt like he was falling in love all over again. His fringe was falling in front of his eyes but Haruka could still detect a hint of a frown, as if the words on the sheet were personally offending him. Next to that, his lips were pouting, which only completed the cute look of utter concentration. The best part was that it was clear that he was unguarded, which made the whole image even more adorable. It would be a waste to let this beautiful sight slip away without capturing it on paper, wouldn't it?

Finding this excuse good enough, Haruka continued the drawing. He was so experienced in drawing Makoto, both from sight and imagination, that it didn't take long until he had sketched the scene before him. Though he was more than familiar with Makoto's physique, he found that he could never quite capture his exceptional beauty on paper - even if Makoto disagreed - which led to him never being satisfied with his drawings of Makoto. Not that that ever stopped him.

This time, though, he deemed the drawing of Makoto good enough for a doodle. Now he just wanted to do something else.

"Can't we go to an indoor pool?" Haruka asked despite already knowing the answer.

"No, not today."

"Can we at least take a break?"

Asking this was a little more effective and he knew it. No matter how zealous Makoto was when it came to his school work, English was a whole other story. He knew that Makoto would rather do literally anything else than his English homework, so he knew that he was striking a cord inside him. Unfortunately for Haruka, Makoto was not going to give up as easily today as he had been hoping.

"Let's try to finish this worksheet first, Haru-chan," Makoto sighed, "then we can take a break afterwards."

"Drop the '-chan'," Haruka grumbled in disappointment as he reluctantly grabbed the English sheet again. It didn't matter if he spent another minute or hour on this assignment, because he didn't get it either way and it wasn't like he would magically be able to understand it after staring and pondering for a while. So he did the next best thing: fill in some nonsense answers.

When he was 'done' with his assignment he shoved it away from himself and declared that he had finished it before crawling to Makoto and resting his head on his lap.

"Haru, you didn't even try, did you?" Makoto questioned as he peered down into Haruka's eyes, shaking his head because he knew his boyfriend better than anyone, but then he began to run his fingers through Haruka's hair all the same.

Haruka didn't bother to respond because both of them already knew that was the truth. Instead he turned to his side, facing Makoto's stomach as he lifted his shirt and started to trace random patterns on his lower back with his blunt nails, hoping that Makoto would stop trying soon so they could do something else.

It didn't even take two minutes until Makoto put his pencil down with a sigh, making a small smirk appear on Haruka's face. When it came to persuading Makoto, Haruka was the real champion. Not even Ran and Ren could compete with him.

Makoto's hand drifted from his hair to his cheek, caressing his skin with the pad of his thumb.

"There. You got what you want?" Makoto asked, but there was not a single trace of malice in his voice.

"Yes," Haruka replied truthfully and he hoisted himself up with the help of Makoto's arm and seated himself in Makoto's lap instead, wrapping his arms around Makoto's neck and resting their foreheads together.

"You're such a bad influence," Makoto teased, placing his arms around Haruka's lower back and pulling his body a little closer.

"Am I now?" Haruka tightened his legs around Makoto's waist and played with the hairs at Makoto's nape. Then he leaned forward and lightly pecked Makoto's lips.

In return Makoto chuckled softly, before he whispered, "You are," against Haruka's lips, stealing a small kiss back.

"But you still love me," Haruka stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. It was.

"I do," Makoto agreed, before giggling, "I think that just makes me a fool."

A small smile stretched Haruka's lips. "Shut up."

Any response that Makoto might have had was cut off by Haruka's lips, effectively silencing him as Haruka kissed and tugged at his closed mouth. Makoto easily obliged and began to kiss him back.

Unlike their teasing remarks might suggest, there was no rush in the kiss. Instead, it was filled with passion and tenderness, taking their sweet time to just feel each other and to enjoy it to its fullest.

Humming slightly into the kiss, Makoto stroked Haruka's back while Haruka continued to run his fingers through the strands at the back of Makoto's neck, both of their touches making even more warmth settle into their chests than the loving kiss provided by itself. Kissing each other just felt so incredibly good, the touch of the other's soft lips was something they would never get tired of.

It was no different now. If it was up to Haruka, they would spend the rest of the day just in each other's embrace. But of course, that was a little too much to ask for.

The quick thudding of feet running up the stairs could be heard from Makoto's room before the door was swung open, revealing the twins standing in the doorway.

Not surprised in the least by the sight of Haruka in their brother's arms, they stormed into the room. "Onii-chan, Haru-chan, let's play!"

Breaking apart, Makoto and Haruka turned their heads towards the children. "Ran, Ren," Makoto said, "Where's Mom?"

When Makoto had told their mother that Haruka and he were going to do their homework in his room, she had said she'd keep the twins occupied so they wouldn't be disturbed. The fact that Ran and Ren were here now meant that their mother had gone somewhere.

"She forgot something for dinner so she went back to the store to get it," Ren explained.

"Yes, so let's play!" Ran added.

"Didn't she tell you not to bother us because we're studying?"

"You aren't even studying," she argued.

"Yes we are."

Sceptically Ran raised her eyebrow, looking at them in disbelief. "No you aren't."

"We _were_ ," Makoto defended, "we were just taking a break."

While technically, that was true, it wasn't like Haruka had any intention of continuing their homework after their 'break'. But Makoto didn't know that yet.

"Oh, if you're taking a break, then you can play with us," Ran concluded with a nod of her head, looking more satisfied with her manipulative self than a nine year old girl should be.

Knowing there was no way he could refuse, Makoto closed his eyes and sighed, "Fine."

Simultaneously the twins cried out in glee, cheering their triumph.

"Sorry, Haru. Do you mind?" Makoto asked softly so his siblings wouldn't hear.

"No, it's alright." He didn't mind playing with Ren and Ran. Even if he would have preferred to keep kissing Makoto, everything was better than doing English homework, and with the twins' insistence and distraction, he was sure Makoto wouldn't bring it up again. At least not today.

Leaning forward so his lips were ghosting over Haruka's ear, Makoto murmured, "We'll continue this later."

The promising words and hot breath against his ear sent a shiver down Haruka's spine. Now he definitely had something to look forward to. He pressed a quick, chaste kiss against Makoto's lips before he disentangled his limbs and got up.

"So, what do you want to do?" Makoto questioned as he took off his glasses and placed them on top of his notes. Then he pushed himself off the floor as well.

"We want to play 'Fantasy World'," Ren answered full of enthusiasm and his sister nodded in agreement.

Although Haruka didn't know exactly what that entailed, the name was pretty self-explanatory so he had a fair idea of what they wanted to do.

"Okay, so what do you want to be?" Makoto asked, apparently familiar with the 'Fantasy World' game that his siblings created.

"Well, I'm going to be a princess who is locked up in a tower that is guarded by a dragon," Ran began, "and Onii-chan is going to be the brave knight who saves me from the dragon. Ren can be the dragon and Haru-chan... the tower?"

"Hey! Why do you get to be the princess?" Ren objected.

"Because I'm a girl, obviously."

"That doesn't matter, I can be a princess too! Right, Onii-chan?"

"You can be whatever you want, Ren," Makoto assured.

"See!"

"Still, I'm going to be the princess."

"That's unfair! I want to be the princess!"

" _I'm_ going to be the princess!"

"No, _I'm_ going to be the princess!"

While the twins were fighting over the position of damsel in distress, Haruka was still stuck at the mention of him having to be the tower. Although he thought most things were generally too much effort, too troublesome to get involved in, he had to admit that having to be an inanimate object in the fantasy world of two children was a little anticlimactic.

"You always get to be the princess, it's my turn now!"

"The dress is mine so I'm the princess!"

"Guys, please don't fight," Makoto tried to hush and stop the situation from escalating any further, but neither Ran nor Ren was listening.

"Hey," Haruka's clear voice cut through the room, effectively making the twins stop arguing for a second to look at him. "What about this: Ran is the princess-"

"Yes!"

"Aww!"

Ignoring the reactions, Haruka continued, "Ren is the knight and I'll be the dragon."

"What about Onii-chan?" the twins inquired.

"...Horse," he mumbled inaudibly.

"What?"

"Makoto can be the horse," he repeated, louder this time.

"What?" Makoto echoed in bewilderment.

"Okay!" the twins exclaimed.

"Go get your stuff then," Haruka told Ran and Ren, not responding to his boyfriend's question.

The children did as they were told and ran out of Makoto's room to grab their props and costumes and whatnot.

Once they were alone, Makoto turned himself to Haruka.

"The horse?" he asked dejectedly.

"How else is a knight going to save a princess? By foot?" Haruka shrugged, "Besides you have the build of one."

"When you say it like that it really doesn't sound like a compliment..."

"And the idiotic strength of one," he added, mostly to tease Makoto, but he couldn't deny there was a sliver of truth in his joke.

"Haru!" Makoto protested.

"Stop whining and be grateful. You also could have been the tower." Haruka took his arm and tugged lightly. "Let's go."

Not objecting any further, Makoto accepted his fate and allowed Haruka to pull him out of his room.

Then Ran and Ren emerged from their room, ready for their adventure. Ran was wearing a princess dress that Haruka recalled her wearing last Halloween - it surprised him that it still fit her, perhaps it had been a little big on her back then - and a toy tiara on her head. Ren wasn't wearing any special themed clothing, but he was holding a small sword in his right hand and a matching shield in his left - most likely the remains of another Halloween costume that he had grown out of.

They went down the stairs as Ran explained how things would go: the stairs would serve as the tower, with Ran sitting halfway up while Haruka was going to guard her from the bottom step. Then Ren and Makoto would come in from the living room, with Ren on Makoto's back.

Everyone got into their position and their play began.

On all fours Makoto crawled into the hallway with Ren sitting on his lower back - because his upper back was too wide for Ren to straddle. Ren kept his balance with his hands in front of him, the plastic toys he was holding poking into Makoto's back. Although it felt really uncomfortable, Makoto didn't mention it as he just continued to crawl, too focused on making sure he didn't drop Ren.

In front of the staircase he came to a halt, and Ren began to swat at Haruka's legs with his sword. When nothing happened, he stopped.

"I'm too low. Makoto, get me higher!"

"Alright, hang on," Makoto mumbled as he lifted his hands off the ground and put his arms underneath Ren, preventing him from slipping off as he got onto his feet. Then he bent a little through his legs and tried to keep his back straight, to stay in his role of noble steed.

Once he was more on the dragon's level, he started his second attempt at killing it.

"Don't stab him too hard!" Makoto warned, knowing how rough his siblings could be when they got lost in their 'Fantasy World' and not wanting them to hurt his love.

"I know!" Ren yelled as he continued to thrust his sword at Haruka, who was motionlessly staring at Ren, not impressed in the slightest.

"No! You're all doing it wrong!" Ran protested and she pointed at Haruka. "Haru-chan, you have to act like a dragon. You have to be like: 'Rawwrrr raaawwrrr.'" She made claw-like movements with her hands as she said this.

At Ran's sounds Haruka frowned. What was he, a dragon or a dinosaur? Wanting to do as she instructed so she'd get off his back, he hesitantly raised his arms, curling his fingers to look like claws. "R-Rawr rawr... rawr."

"Pffft!" Makoto snorted, trying his best to keep himself from laughing out loud but utterly failing. "It's always fun to see that special side of you, Haru," he giggled.

"Horses don't talk!" Haruka said as he averted his eyes, a small blush of embarrassment adorning his cheeks.

Makoto bit his lip, smiling at how cute Haruka was being. "Neither do dragons," he chuckled.

"Some dragons do," Haruka argued.

"True, but some horses do as well."

"Real horses don't. Talking horses don't exist."

"Dragons don't exist at all. Besides, this is 'Fantasy World', so talking horses do exist."

"Onii-chan, Haru-chan, you have to be more serious!" Ran interfered.

"R-Rawr," Haruka mumbled as Makoto neighed at his sister, both attempting a 'serious' form of apology.

"Then you, Ren," Ran continued as her complaints didn't stop at her older brother and his boyfriend, "You have to declare who you are and what you're going to do! You have to be like: 'I am the bravest knight of the kingdom and I am going to slay you, Dragon, so I can save the beautiful princess!'"

"But I'm not saving the beautiful princess, I'm saving you," Ren frowned.

Ran gasped offendedly, "I _am_ the beautiful princess!"

"No you're not. You're an _ugly_ princess!" Ren said as he stuck his tongue out. Something told Haruka that the little boy was still bitter about the fact that he wasn't allowed to play the princess.

"Ah! I am _not_!" Ran yelled, sounding like she had never been more insulted in her entire life. "Onii-chan!"

"Ren, don't be mean!" Makoto scolded. "You are beautiful, Ran. The most beautiful princess ever," he assured, not wanting his sister to develop an inferiority complex over 'Fantasy World'.

"Haru-chan?" she asked, wanting to hear Haruka's agreement.

"The fairest maiden in the realm," Haruka added.

Even though she most likely didn't understand what exactly Haruka had said, she took it as something positive and a prideful smile appeared on her face, beaming at her twin brother before she returned the gesture of sticking her tongue out.

"Now," she resumed as if all of this hadn't happened, "You have to kill the dragon so you can save me, the _beautiful_ princess."

"I'm not going to save a snobby princess like you! Makoto, let's go," Ren commanded as he lightly kicked against Makoto's sides to get him to walk.

"Well, I don't even _want_ to be saved by a useless knight like you!" Ran retorted, crossing her arms and turning her head away haughtily.

At this point trying to get them both to behave properly and be nice towards each other so they could continue the game would be a lost cause. So instead Makoto did as Ren had wanted and he began to gallop away, exaggerating his movements so Ren would bounce slightly on his back and create the illusion of him sitting on an actual horse, all the while making sure that he wouldn't slip off. He took them to the living room and told Ren to put his shield and sword down onto the table so he could hold onto him better.

"No fair," Ran pouted, "I want to ride on Onii-chan's back too!"

Not wanting Ran to feel left out, Haruka spread his arms behind his back and bent through his knees, "Here," he offered. He may not be Makoto, but he could give her a piggyback ride too.

"Yay!" Ran cheered as she encircled Haruka's neck with her limbs and jumped into his arms, making him stumble down the step with surprise and impact.

When he regained his composure, he turned his head towards the side and said, "Hold on tight."

Ran did as he instructed and tightened her grip around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together.

Then Haruka let go of her and started to walk, flapping his arms as if they were dragon wings, staying in character like Makoto was doing. It was a little embarrassing, but if it made Ran happy, then he'd gladly suffer the shame.

They joined Makoto and Ren in the living room, where Makoto was still galloping with Ren on his back, who was giggling loudly in glee. Not wanting Ran to be jealous of her brother, Haruka increased his speed and practically flew through the room with Ran clinging to him, who had started to laugh as well.

Making sure they didn't bump into each other, Makoto and Haruka carried the children through the living room, both using their creatures' traits to entertain them.

Eventually Makoto dropped Ren on top of the couch and he turned around, starting to tickle his little brother. The boy began to laugh loudly as Makoto assaulted his sides, squirming and trying to get away from the sneaky fingers that were attacking him. Makoto was stronger than him and Ren had no place to flee to so he had no other choice but to submit to the tickle death his older brother was subjecting him to. Tears were forming in his eyes and he attempted to tell Makoto to stop, but alas he was laughing so hard that no coherent word could leave his lips, only able to gasp for breath.

Distracted from their flight by the sudden outburst of harsh laughter, Haruka and Ran came to a halt, seeing Makoto loom over the couch. Struck with an idea, Haruka whispered something to Ran, who nodded in agreement with a devious smirk on her face. She released her hold on Haruka's torso and jumped to the ground, sneaking towards the couch with Haruka following her.

Once they were close enough Ran and Haruka began to tickle Makoto from either side, taking him by surprise and making him cease tickling Ren. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Ren successfully escaped Makoto's hands and rolled towards the other side of the couch, getting to his feet and assisting Haruka and Ran with tickling Makoto, who lost his balance and fell onto the couch instead.

Now the tables were turned and it was Makoto who was being tickled from every side. Years of tickling and being tickled was not enough to become immune to ghosting fingertips against sensitive sides, Makoto unfortunately concluded.

"T-Three against... one," he managed to get out between giggles, "that's... not fair."

"Life isn't fair," Haruka teased, smirking slyly as he increased the pace of his tickling.

Rolling from side to side in the hopes of escaping the tickling was not helpful either as every spot that opened up was immediately attacked by swift fingers, so he had to find another way to save himself. He grabbed Ran by the wrist and pulled her on top of him. The little girl let out a yelp as she crashed unexpectedly into her brother's chest.

Sadly, Makoto's attempt at using his sister as a human shield was not successful. Although Makoto was definitely much stronger than Haruka, with the tickles and laughter weakening the control of his muscles and therefore his strength, Haruka was easily able to pry Ran out of his arms while Ren continued to tickle his side.

Ceasing his attempts of getting away, he resorted to his last option: covering himself up as well as he could in the hopes of sparing himself some of the tickles. He wrapped his arms around his midsection, which blocked out some of the tickles and his laughter died out for the most part.

However, Haruka wouldn't give up so easily and while the twins tried to pull his arms away and tickle around them, Haruka grabbed a hold of Makoto's left ankle.

Sensing what Haruka planned to do, Makoto's eyes widened in horror. "No, Haru... please!"

Not listening, Haruka began to run his nails over the bottom of Makoto's foot, lightly and slowly, knowing exactly how ticklish his boyfriend's feet were.

Laughter louder than before erupted from Makoto's chest, shaking heavily as it rumbled through his body. He began to kick and thrust violently while breathlessly begging Haruka to stop and let go.

"What?" Haruka asked innocently as he continued to tickle Makoto's foot, "I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

"Please, Haru... Haru!"

Tears of laughter were rolling down his cheeks, which were glowing bright red from exertion. Even if he wasn't able to verbally convey it through all of his laughter, Haruka understood that what he wanted to say was that his stomach was hurting and that it was really too much for him to handle.

Still, Haruka thought that it would be a shame to let this blissful moment slip away. Makoto's laughter was always like music to his ears, the sound so beautiful that it filled him with joy. Next to that was the carefree and youthful sight of Makoto squirming and trashing with tears pouring from his eyes and marking his face so nice that it spontaneously made a smile of elation appear on Haruka's face. But he had tortured his boyfriend enough so he decided to have mercy on his poor soul. For now.

"Do you surrender?" he asked, mostly so that Ran and Ren would get the message to stop.

Unable to reply, Makoto vigorously nodded.

"Alright," Haruka easily said and he let go of Makoto's foot.

Immediately Makoto withdrew his limbs, curling up into himself as he tried to catch his breath. The twins had evidently forgotten about their fight from before as they cheered their victory together. They started to discuss what they were going to do next, when suddenly the front door was opened.

"I'm home!" Mrs. Tachibana called, her voice ringing through the house.

Distracted, Ren and Ran trotted off to greet their mother, leaving Makoto and Haruka alone in the living room.

Sitting up straight, Makoto finally regained his breath and he wiped the drying tears off his cheeks. Then he suddenly grabbed Haruka and pulled him into his lap with his back against his chest.

"Now it's my turn," he said as he began to tickle Haruka's sides with one hand, keeping him trapped with his other arm.

Not wanting to give Makoto the satisfaction of hearing him laugh, Haruka bit the inside of his cheeks and tensed his muscles. Unfortunately, Makoto knew exactly what his most sensitive spots were, taking advantage of that fact like he always did.

He snorted when Makoto's fingers lightly stroked a particular spot on his midriff, cursing his inability to contain himself. The fear of being tickled until he couldn't stop laughing entered his mind as Makoto's fingertips continued to tease him, but it turned out to be his lucky day; Makoto's fingers suddenly ceased his tickling and softly caressed the spot instead.

"I think I have teased my little dragon enough for today," he joked, loosening his grip around Haruka's body, but not releasing him yet.

Haruka frowned, turning his head to face his boyfriend. "Don't call me that."

"Rawr," Makoto mimicked mirthfully and like his siblings had done earlier, he playfully stuck his tongue out at Haruka, who did the same.

"Stupid horse," he mumbled, feigning annoyance unsuccessfully.

"I thought I was an orca," Makoto chuckled, hugging Haruka closer to himself.

"You are, but today, you're a stupid horse," Haruka concluded with a cute pout.

"I see," Makoto nodded, leaning forward and stealing a kiss from his pouty lips.

Once again Haruka was unable to conceal his true feelings and a smile broke through his demeanour. He wrapped his arms around Makoto's neck and shifted his position on Makoto's lap. Then he captured Makoto's lips with his, now able to properly kiss him like he had wanted to the entire time. Makoto eagerly reciprocated, fulfilling his promise from before. Something told Haruka that Makoto had wanted this just as much as he did - perhaps even more than that.

Not completely forgetting their surroundings, they kept their kiss mild and tame. However, it was still too much for some parts of the audience - that had only recently entered the room again.

"Ew! Onii-chan and Haru-chan are being gross again!" Ren yelled while Ran shuddered. Mrs. Tachibana only chuckled at the scene.

Simultaneously, Haruka and Makoto stuck their tongues out at the twins.

Later that evening they were lounging back in Makoto's room, with Makoto lying on top of his bed and Haruka lying on top of Makoto. They lied like that more often, and while Haruka always worried about hurting or possibly even crushing Makoto, Makoto always said that it didn't hurt and that besides him being as close as possible, he loved the feeling of Haruka's weight on top of him, like it was a reassurance of his presence. Haruka understood what he meant with that, because he loved it for the same reason - though he wouldn't want it to be reversed with Makoto lying on top of _him_ because Makoto was much heavier than him and he was sure he'd die sooner or later.

Pleasant silence hung in the air between them, enjoying the serenity and comfort of just being together. Haruka's head was resting on Makoto's chest, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart beneath his ear and being surrounded in his familiar scent, feeling content. His arms loosely wrapped around Haruka's lower back, Makoto shared the sentiment entirely. Suddenly he chuckled lightly and Haruka could hear it vibrating through his body. It wasn't enough to break the tranquility, in fact, it was a nice addition to the calm ambience that floated through the room.

Rubbing his cheek against Makoto's pectoral, Haruka asked, "What?"

A soft, endearing smile adorned Makoto's face as he ran his fingers over Haruka's back through his thin shirt. "I was just thinking about this afternoon," he gently murmured and Haruka lifted his head to look at him, "how cute you were with the twins."

When Haruka realised what he was referring to he buried his face into Makoto's chest, his cheeks lighting up with embarrassment.

Makoto only chuckled again and if he could have fallen any deeper in love with Haruka, he would have. "You're so good with kids, Haru," he said earnestly, brushing a strand of hair behind Haruka's ear, only for it to fall back into its old place again. "You'd be a great father."

At that Haruka looked up, seemingly surprised at his words. "Not as good as you. If anyone would be an amazing father, it's you," Haruka argued.

"I don't know..."

"What do you mean?" It was obvious that Makoto would be an amazing parent, anyone who knew him would concur. So what about it made him hesitant? "Children adore you."

"Well I just... I'm not sure if I would be able to raise them right," Makoto admitted sheepishly.

"Of course you would. Don't sell yourself short."

He smiled gently at Haruka's confidence. "Thank you, Haru."

"Do you think you want children?"

The question took Makoto by surprise. Why, Haruka didn't know, because it seemed like a reasonable question in this conversation.

"Eh? W-Well, I don't know, I-" His stammering was cut off by Haruka's soft voice.

"Makoto," he said, "Be honest. Regardless of everything, do you think you want kids?"

A small sigh left Makoto's lips. Haruka was fishing for the answer he already knew.

"I do. I know things are not that easy, but the thought of having a family with Haru makes me incredibly happy." For a second he looked like he was lost in dreams, but then his eyes met Haruka's and he smiled again. "And you?"

"I don't know," Haruka replied honestly. Unlike for most people, children were never really something that Haruka could say wanted, per se. But the idea of having children with Makoto, a family that was theirs, made him feel warm and heavy, like scorching butterflies were buzzing through his body. "I'd like that, I think. A family with Makoto."

An unusual shyness befell Haruka and he averted his eyes, trying to keep himself together with the sudden rush of emotion that was coursing through his being. He knew it wouldn't be that simple: just wanting a family and children didn't mean that they would get one, especially in their situation, and even if the chance existed that they would be lucky enough, then many, many years would pass before it would happen. But if he thought about Ren and Ran and how Makoto acted with them, and if he imagined them being children of their own, then it would make him happy too, he thought. A family with Makoto, one he never really had himself, would make him happy, perhaps even more than anything else. Not right now, obviously, for Makoto and he were still very much children themselves, but in the far future, that seemed like it would be very nice. Warm and domestic, things he had never quite tied to the image of a future with children. It was probably because of Makoto that he felt this way now.

His train of thought was interrupted when Makoto pressed a sweet kiss against his nose. Automatically Haruka looked at Makoto, staring in his ever-green eyes, which were filled with understanding, compassion, sentiment, but most of all with love. It was clear that Makoto knew exactly what was on his mind.

"We don't have to think about this or decide on anything now," he clarified, "We'll have plenty of time to think about it in the future."

Nodding in agreement, Haruka smiled gently before placing a kiss of his own between Makoto's eyebrows, hovering his face over Makoto's afterwards.

"Right now, I've got my hands full with just the twins," Makoto joked, before playfully adding, "and with you."

"Shut up," Haruka breathed, though he smiled back at Makoto all the same.

Makoto chuckled softly before nuzzling their noses together, the intimate and endearing gesture making Haruka's smile wider as he nuzzled back. Then their lips met halfway in a kiss, romantic and affectionate, the touch soft and gentle, just how they both liked it.

They broke apart to share some short, chaste kisses, before Haruka rested their foreheads together.

"I love you, Haru," Makoto murmured earnestly, his eyes half-lidded as he stared into an ocean of vivid blue.

"I love you too," Haruka whispered back, and his hands moved to cup Makoto's face, caressing his cheeks as he nuzzled his nose once more.

In the sedate atmosphere in Makoto's room, they shared another sweet and loving kiss. And another one. And a whole lot more.

Whatever the future might hold for them, Haruka knew that he would be happy as long as Makoto was with him.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate every bit of attention this collection gets, so thank you :)**

 **This fic was obviously heavily inspired by the track "Haruka and Makoto and Ran and Ren." I didn't want to blatently copy that track, but I couldn't resist referencing to it since I absolutely adore that track.**

 **The reason why Ren sometimes referred to Makoto with 'Makoto' was because he was talking to him as his horse, not as his brother. Sorry if that wasn't really clear, but it was intentional.**

 **While I was writing this I had to laugh so hard because Haru being the dragon and Makoto being the horse reminded me of Shrek and I had thoughts like "MakoHaru Shrek AU with Makoto as Donkey and Haru as Dragon". It's really stupid when I write it down now but it's funny when you're writing a fic at night. I said something on Twitter about this too but I don't think anyone appreciated my jokes.**

 **Anyway, one thing that I still want to say is that once I'm finished with the fic I mentioned earlier, I'm going to take a little break from these requests to work on some of my other fics. It's been a long time since I updated some of them and even though I'm not sure if there are still people who are willing to read them, I still want to write them and I don't want anyone to think that any of my fics are dropped, because they aren't. So if you sent me a request and I haven't fulfilled it yet, worry not, I'll get to it sooner or later. ^^**

 **As always you can talk to me on Tumblr (datheetjoella) and Twitter (DatHeetJoella). If you like my writing then you might want to check them out since I sometimes share snippets and previews of what I'm writing, on Twitter especially I often drop hints about the content of the fic and share my ideas for fics that I'll most likely never get to as well as my MakoHaru thoughts and headcanons. No pressure, though, it's all for good fun! ^^**

 **Either way, I hope you enjoyed this fic and I hope to see you again at my next installment.**

 **Have a lovely day and hopefully see you next time! :)**


	7. After the Confession

**Prompt: Okay fluffier response. After the confession scene at the pool, Makoto and Haru head home while holding hands. Make it as romantic as possible. (Because I'm starving for fic that focuses on what happens right after that scene.)**

 **A/N: Today (December 29th, 2016) it has been exactly two years since I wrote my very first fic. I want to thank every single person who has ever read one of my fics and left a review, favourited it, etc. Every bit of attention my fics receive means the world to me and I am truly grateful to everyone who has continuously supported me throughout the past two years. I really hope that you'll continue to support me and enjoy my works in the future! ^^**

 **So because it's my "anniversary" of being a writer, I wanted to have the fic that I am currently working on finished so I could give it to you all as a gift. Alas, some things happened in my life because of which I had to stop writing for some time and therefore I wasn't able to finish it on time. Now that I'm back into writing I hope I can finish it as soon as I can. For now, I decided to post the latest piece of work that I finished but hadn't shared here yet. I originally posted this fic a little while ago on my Tumblr, so you might have read it already over there. Nevertheless, I know there are some people who solely read fics over here so I want to share it with my FFn-exclusive readers as well! ^^**

 **If you don't know, this fic is basically a "missing scene" from the movie High*Speed: Free - Starting Days. If, by any chance, you have not watched the movie yet, I recommend you do so because it is necessary in order to understand this fic.**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it! ^^**

 **Rating: T**

* * *

With wet clothes, racing hearts and intertwined fingers Haruka and Makoto made their way back home through the empty streets of Iwatobi, which were dimly lit by the streetlights and the moon.

The cool evening breeze that was pleasantly blowing should have made them shiver in their wet clothes, but neither of them could feel the cold because a fire of emotion was burning inside of their bodies.

Although the feeling of Makoto's hand in his was one that Haruka was all too familiar with, it was different now, not only because their fingers were laced together, but also because the meaning behind the simple gesture was entirely different. Something had changed. It was something that made his stomach tingle and feel funny with warmth of feelings and emotions he hadn't quite understood yet before. But tonight he had learned to put a name to these feelings. Love.

Haruka didn't like change. He never had, and he probably never will, preferring the comfort of familiarity. But alas, life didn't wait for anyone and change was inevitable. Even if things changed, everything would be fine because the soothing presence of his best friend would always be by his side, experiencing the change with him and supporting him through it. At least, that was what Haruka always believed.

Entering middle school was one of those changes that Haruka dreaded more than he looked forward to. Luckily for him, Makoto was going to the same school so he wouldn't have to face this new world all by himself. Then the first disappointment came: they weren't in the same class. At first he thought that that wouldn't be that big of a deal; they could still see each other during lunch breaks and after school they would continue to go to the swim club and hang out like they always did. Almost immediately that feeling of his changed when he realised that other people would be in Makoto's class, other people would befriend and hang out with Makoto, without his knowledge. And on top of that, he was in a class all by himself while these other people had Makoto. It was at that moment that he realised that unlike in elementary school, this place didn't know _Haruka and Makoto_ , didn't know what their relationship entailed nor to what extend it went. Didn't know that you can't have one without the other. There was no _Haruka and Makoto_ here but rather Haruka and Makoto, two individuals rather than a duo.

It took some time to get used to, but after a week or two he had accepted that this was reality now. Although his classmates were pretty noisy, and most of all they weren't Makoto, they were all right, he supposed. He saw Makoto more often since they had joined the school's swim team together, enabling him to share the water with Makoto more often than he previously had been able to, so that was nice. Even if this place didn't know _Haruka and Makoto_ that didn't mean that it was going to cease to exist. They were still best friends, sharing a bond stronger than any other, and nothing could ever change that. That was what he sincerely believed. Until Makoto started to change as well.

It had started on the first day of school, when Makoto suddenly changed the way he addressed himself. When he mentioned it to Makoto, he had sheepishly explained that now he was a middle schooler, he thought he'd use a different way to refer to himself. Haruka had found it weird and unnecessary, but he didn't say anything else about it, deciding to drop the subject and let Makoto do what he wanted. If Makoto felt more comfortable with using a more 'masculine' or 'adult' way to address himself, then that was fine and he chose not to think about it too much.

But then as time passed Makoto seemingly began to distance himself from Haruka. When he had finished a lap in the pool and Makoto's hand wasn't there, not reaching out to pull him out of the water, Haruka knew something was wrong. They saw each other less and less and at one point it even seemed as if Makoto was purposefully avoiding him. All of it made Haruka feel bad and insecure, like Makoto consciously chose to leave him behind in order to take a different path in his life; a path that didn't include Haruka.

Even if he didn't mind solitude and could enjoy being alone, Haruka couldn't remember a time he had ever felt so lonely. His best friend was growing up without him and when he came home he was greeted by the emptiness of his house.

Ugly feelings coiled in his stomach: pain, anger, loneliness and some he couldn't place. These feelings dominated his mind and mood, to the point of him not having an appetite, not even for his beloved mackerel.

He'd had enough. He just wanted his best friend back, to stop this change that was happening and for everything to return to the way it was before they entered middle school.

One night he had gone out to the convenience store to get himself some groceries for dinner and when he had returned Makoto was there, standing in front of his door, leaving food that his mother made behind for him. Haruka hadn't eaten any of the meals Makoto brought for him; he just couldn't. In a way, it was his stubborn protest against Makoto's change.

Like he always did, Makoto saw right through him and scolded him and at that moment something inside of Haruka snapped. No longer able to contain his true feelings, he had yelled at Makoto, spilling his every thought before they could explode inside of him.

As he was catching his breath from his sudden outburst, Makoto had seemingly realised something. Everything was going too fast for Haruka's mind to comprehend when he was suddenly pulled down the stairs by Makoto, his grip around his wrist firm yet somehow still gentle.

Makoto had taken him to the swim club, where they had swum together - fully clothed - in the pool that was illuminated by the light of the full moon. Submerged in the clear water they swam circles around each other and Makoto had reached out his hands to him. It took him by surprise as it was the first familiar gesture he'd been given in a time full of uncertainty. He had taken Makoto's hands and allowed Makoto to pull him upwards. They had floated on the water, hands clasped together and even if things hadn't been solved yet, for the first time in days Haruka felt a little bit of peace and comfort settling into his heart.

After a while they were resting on one of the lane dividers and Makoto had explained to him what had been coursing through his mind these past couple of weeks and he had apologised. Nonchalantly Haruka had said that it was okay and that he was sorry too, but on the inside he was practically dying from the overwhelming relief that washed over his body at those words. He didn't want Makoto to notice, so he asked if Makoto had found an answer to the question that had been occupying his mind and controlled his actions.

It was then that Makoto spoke the words that made the pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place, slotting together perfectly to form the clear image that Haruka hadn't been able to see before.

 _"I love swimming and I love Haru-chan, so I want to swim together with you."_

Love. He loved Makoto. That was why he was so afraid of things to change, so afraid of other people hanging around Makoto, so afraid of Makoto distancing himself from him. Because he loved Makoto, and the thought of Makoto leaving him behind was terrifying; the thought of Makoto no longer being with him stabbing him deep in his gut.

But he didn't have to worry about that anymore, because Makoto loved him too.

When everything clicked together, the realisation that engulfed him left him shy and practically speechless. Like he had said earlier that evening, Makoto was still Makoto; still the same Makoto as the little boy he had always known, his best friend that he was growing up with, and the person he loved. His cheeks felt hot and he had to avert his eyes, because Makoto's bright smile and sparkling eyes were too much for him to handle.

He knew he had to say something in return, because he couldn't just leave Makoto hanging like that, not when his feelings were definitely returned. Although he wasn't quite ready yet to tell Makoto that aloud, he knew that his true feelings would bleed through his words and facial expression.

Habitually he told Makoto to stop with the '-chan', which made Makoto apologise once more, though there was no trace of actual remorse in his voice, indicating that he definitely wasn't going to stop calling him the childhood nickname. Unlike his half-feigned annoyance would suggest, he actually didn't mind Makoto calling him 'Haru-chan' as long as they were alone. In a way, it was a reminder of them still being the same _Haruka and Makoto_ they had always been.

After Makoto's remorseless apology, Haruka had shyly muttered, _"Also... Of course we'll swim together."_

Those words were completely true, but they held a hidden message that only Makoto would be able to understand. Not only would they continue to _swim_ together, they would to _be_ together as well, both in the water as in life in general.

The brilliant smile that lit up Makoto's face told Haruka that Makoto had gotten the meaning behind his words quite clearly. If Haruka's insides weren't already tingling with butterflies, they would have melted on the spot upon witnessing the overjoyed expression on his best friend's face. Unable to deal with all of these overwhelming emotions that his best friend was drowning him in, he needed to get himself out of this situation so his blazing cheeks could cool down and his heartbeat would hopefully return to normal once more.

So he proposed to go back home and began to swim away, which made Makoto yell to wait for him.

And that was how they ended up here, on the road they took almost daily, now with entwined fingers and blushes dusting their cheeks.

Everything still felt so surreal to Haruka; the whole revelation of not only Makoto's feelings, but his own as well was a lot to take in. For once, the water had done nothing to calm him down, it was like it was only adding to the sentiment that painted the air that hung between Makoto and him then, like it was adding even more impact to the already powerful moment. Makoto's confession kept repeating itself in his head, and with every echo Haruka's heart felt heavier, the meaning of his words finding their place inside of him, seeping into the spots his heart had always saved up for them, even if it was without his knowledge. Every syllable heated his cheeks even more. He had hoped that removing himself from the situation would give him time to regain his cool demeanour, but instead it was doing the opposite: this quiet walk back home gave him the opportunity to analyse and overthink every little thing about Makoto. It made him realise that this newfound love between them might have been there all along, but it was so natural to them that neither realised it until they were separated for some time. That thought made him almost glad that Makoto had distanced himself from him so he could figure himself out. Almost.

The silence between them was heavy unlike usually, although it wasn't because it was awkward or uncomfortable, but there was a certain bashfulness emitting from both of them. Realising that you feel more for your lifetime best friend than just the friendly feelings there normally were was a lot to take in, and they still had to adjust to the idea. But even then, they found that they didn't dislike the idea of their relationship being more than friendship; they didn't dislike it at all. Somehow, it was like it was always meant to be this way.

For Makoto, the revelation of him loving Haruka had come a little earlier, when Haruka had yelled at him. It was something small clicking into place, nothing at all like the big bomb exploding like he had always believed it would be. Of course, he loved Haruka. That was why everything had hurt so much, why he had felt so miserable during the days they spent apart. It was why Nao-senpai's question had hit him as hard as it did, which had led to him forcing himself to change. Because he wanted to find his own identity, who he really was apart from Haruka. But he hadn't realised that their lives had been intertwined from the moment he was born, like there was a red string of fate tied around their pinky fingers that bound them together. Loving Haruka was part of who he was; to deny Haruka's role in his life was to deny himself. He knew that now, and he had to make sure that Haruka understood as well.

The confession he had spoken was not something that he had carefully thought out, not something he had pondered over to craft to perfection. Instead, the words that had flown from his lips were his true feelings right at that moment, what he needed Haruka to know. And he had meant every single one of them; no words more accurate could have been spoken.

And he didn't regret them, not in the slightest, but now that he had time to think everything over, he felt a little more unsure. Not about his confession itself, but rather Haruka's reaction to it. The response Haruka had given him was so like his best friend and he got the message that he had silently conveyed with them, but what if he had interpreted it wrong? What if this was something he wanted so badly that he read into his friend's words too much? What if the hidden meaning of his words weren't there at all?

The blush that adorned Haruka's cheeks and the fact that they were holding hands now contradicted this idea, but he couldn't help but feel insecure by his own thoughts. He needed to get the reassurance and all he could do was ask.

"Hey, Haru?"

"What?" Haruka questioned softly, meeting his eyes for the first time since they had left the swim club.

Knowing that Haruka wasn't quite ready yet to admit how he honestly felt out loud, Makoto knew he had to ask him in a more roundabout way. "When you said that we'd swim together," he started, "what did you mean with that?"

Immediately Haruka averted his eyes again and if his cheeks could have glown a darker shade of red, they would have. "I meant what I said," he muttered quietly.

"Yes, but," Makoto halted, trying to think of how he could properly formulate this, "Did you mean that we would _be_ together? As in, _together_?" His voice cracked as he said this, making him cringe a little at himself, but he tried to not pay too much attention to it, wanting to sound confident even if he wasn't, really.

Suddenly Haruka started to question if _he_ hadn't interpreted things differently than he should have. He thought it was clear that they were _together_ now, but if Makoto asked it like this then that could only mean that it wasn't as obvious to him as it was to Haruka. Or maybe he realised he didn't actually want it.

Not wanting to force Makoto into anything if he did actually feel different than him, Haruka tried to answer as nonchalantly as possible. "If you want..."

Those hesitant words were all the confirmation Makoto needed. He chuckled softly, covering his mouth with his fist and he lightly squeezed Haruka's fingers with his other hand. "I'd like that," he murmured earnestly, biting his bottom lip to prevent a wide smile from stretching his face, but it was in vain.

"Alright," Haruka easily replied, but Makoto could tell that his agreement made him incredibly happy; his face may be downturned and half-covered by his fringe, but Makoto could still see the small smile that was betraying his true feelings. The way he softly squeezed Makoto's hand in return only encouraged this.

In silence they continued their way home, walking beside the beach, where the moon was reflected in the shimmering ocean.

A loving sigh escaped Makoto's lips as he watched how the moonlit ocean view framed the sight of the beautiful boy walking next to him, his eyes softening as his chest filled with warmth. He gently caressed the hand in his with his thumb, his gaze never straying from Haruka. _His_ Haruka.

When Haruka turned his head towards Makoto and found that he was already looking at him, he quickly turned it away again, pretending to stare at the water instead. It took all of Makoto's strength and willpower not to giggle at how cute Haruka was, but he didn't want to embarrass him even more so he tried to contain it. Now that he knew how he really felt towards Haruka, he didn't understand why he didn't realise it sooner; it was clear as day that he regarded Haruka as way more than just his childhood best friend.

Warm and fluffy feelings roamed through his body, making him feel like he was as light as a feather. That feeling was mutual, as Haruka very much felt like he was on cloud nine as well.

They arrived at the bottom of the stairs that would ultimately lead to their houses, but Haruka found that he didn't want to part from Makoto yet. After spending so much time emotionally apart, he needed more, more time with Makoto, and he wasn't ready to return to that empty house all by himself.

When they got to the steps that would mean for their separation, they both halted, not quite knowing what to do. Turning towards each other, they waited for the other to say something.

Suddenly Haruka got onto his tippy toes and placed a small kiss on Makoto's cheek. The second he did it he realised what he was actually doing and all of his blood rushed towards his face. He didn't know why he did it; it was an impulse, like his body was acting of its own accord, without him having any control of it.

Just as he was about to pull away so he could run back home, Makoto wrapped his arms around his body. It told Haruka that it was okay, and even though he was still embarrassed by his own action, he felt himself relax in Makoto's hold. His own arms found their way around Makoto's waist and he lightly clutched the back of Makoto's damp cardigan.

No word was spoken, but both of them felt the nerves that had been flowing through their veins trickle out of their bodies. Their embrace comforted them both and reminded them that everything was alright; even with their newfound feelings, they were still themselves, still best friends, still _Haruka and Makoto_.

Blue eyes met green ones, staring into each other's soul and practically reading the other's thoughts. They fluttered shut as their lips met each other halfway in a chaste, close-mouthed kiss. It only lasted for a second before they pulled away. Haruka buried his red face into Makoto's chest while Makoto attempted to do the same in Haruka's hair, but he had to bend his neck weirdly and could only nuzzle his black locks at most. So instead, he gently rested his chin atop of Haruka's head, tightening his grip around his back and closing his eyes.

Although everything was still new to them, it somehow felt so natural. Being inside each other's arms made a strange sense of belonging wash over them; it made them feel safe. They hadn't know that the simplicity of feeling someone's body against their own, of holding someone close, could feel this good. It was probably because they were holding _each other_ that it felt so nice, they thought, and even though neither of them had been big on expressing affection physically, they knew that they definitely wouldn't mind holding each other like this more often. If it already felt this great now, they could only imagine how great it would feel if their clothes would be dry.

Neither wanted to break the hold, for it felt much too nice to let go, but they knew that they couldn't just stand here for the rest of the night. Still, releasing Makoto would mean that they were going to part ways, and Haruka would do anything to prevent that from happening.

"Come over," he whispered into Makoto's chest, burying his face a bit further into Makoto's pectoral, the scent of chlorine mixed with something he couldn't describe as anything but _Makoto_ filling his nostrils.

In response Makoto hummed in agreement, so softly that Haruka wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for the feeling of it vibrating through Makoto's chest. The sound was so small, almost as if Makoto was afraid of breaking the air of tranquility that enveloped them.

Tightening their arms ever so slightly, squeezing each other lightly before they sighed and slowly let their hold slip away. Their eyes met once more and Makoto smiled sweetly at Haruka, who returned the gesture with his eyes rather than his lips.

Their hands found each other once more, fingers lacing together as if it was second nature to them as they ascended the rest of the steps leading to Haruka's house.

The plastic bag that Haruka had previously dropped was still there, a calico cat inside of it beside the food that Haruka had bought. Makoto's fingers slipped out of Haruka's hand as he went over to retrieve the bag - and maybe pet the kitten a little.

The sight of Makoto - _his_ Makoto - crouching and stroking the cat's fur affectionately made a flair of adoration mixed with something else - jealousy, he later realised - shoot through Haruka's stomach. He walked to his front door and picked up the box of side dishes that Makoto brought over earlier, and he opened his door.

"Makoto," he called out. The boy in question lifted his head and nodded, saying goodbye to the cat before he got up and returned to Haruka's side, the plastic bag in hand.

They went inside so they could take a bath and change out of their wet clothes. And maybe, when they were done, they could continue to hold each other for the remnants of the night.

Haruka didn't like change. But perhaps some changes weren't that bad.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! ^^**

 **I'm sorry for the first part, though: I wanted to capture Haru's feelings before and during the pool scene, and I sort of ended up recapping it. I tried to keep it brief, because I can talk about and describe that scene for hours, but I didn't want to put the focus on that part because that wasn't the prompt. I also tried to keep it as realistic as I could, but as you can tell that didn't really end up happening.**

 **So do I think this is what truly happened after that wonderful scene? Probably not, but a girl can dream.**

 **Either way, thank you so much for reading. As always you can talk to me on Tumblr and Twitter at DatHeetJoella :)**

 **I hope everyone has a wonderful day and hopefully I will see you all the next time.**

 **See you in 2017! ^^**


	8. Hickeys

**Prompt: inktober prompt: mh + hickeys (on haru)**

 **A/N: It's been a good while since I've received this prompt so I'm not sure if the person who sent it will be able to see it, but I hope that they do and that they'll like it. Of course, I hope everyone else likes it as well! ^^**

 **Rating: M**

* * *

With a satisfied hum Makoto pulled out of Haruka, his shoulders heaving as he panted. For a moment he tried to gather himself before he took the condom off, tied the end and threw it into the trash can that stood behind Haruka's bed. Then he grabbed a discarded shirt from the floor and used it to wipe the sweat and release from Haruka's belly. When he deemed it to be good enough for a quick cleanup, he crumpled up the shirt and let it fall to the floor again, not having enough energy left to care about it beyond that.

He leaned down to kiss Haruka, who was still a bit out of it from the intensity of his orgasm but despite that did his best to kiss back. His mouth always instinctively responded to the familiar pressure of Makoto's lips against his so it wasn't too difficult.

Eventually Makoto pulled back to place a kiss on his sweat-sheened forehead and then he let himself collapse next to him, immediately resting his head on Haruka's chest and throwing his arm over him to hold him close. The thumping of Haruka's heart beneath his ear was still frantic and his own matched its pace, which brought a small smile to Makoto's face. In moments like these, when they were both coming down from their high and simply lied together in silence, everything felt right to Makoto, like there was nothing wrong in the universe because everything in his own was simply perfect. He didn't have a care in the world because he was with Haruka and everything was just warm and soft and he just loved Haruka so much that he was unable to feel anything but pure happiness.

When he regained strength in his limbs, Haruka carded his fingers through Makoto's hair after which he ran his hand over Makoto's broad back, settling around his waist and wrapped his other arm around Makoto's shoulder. The rise and fall of Haruka's chest was slowly finding its regular rhythm again and Makoto nuzzled his pectoral before pressing a kiss against his skin.

"That was amazing," Haruka sighed after a while of finally catching his breath and Makoto couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Yeah," Makoto murmured and his smile widened, "It was."

"I love you."

Although he had been told countless of times before, whenever Makoto heard Haruka say those words his heart jumped inside of his chest and his belly tingled with fondness and adoration. He rubbed his cheek over his heart and couldn't suppress a small giggle, feeling too much love to contain inside of him. "Love you too."

Haruka lightly caressed Makoto's arm with a slow movement of his thumb and Makoto sighed in response, feeling content to just lie there and enjoy the loving touch and presence of his favourite person in the world. His breath was cool against Haruka's heated skin and his long lashes tickled when he blinked, unintentionally giving him butterfly kisses.

"Makoto," Haruka breathed and he couldn't help but snort softly, "That tickles!"

Usually this would have been the cue for him to apologise and try to stop doing it, but unfortunately for Haruka, Makoto was in a playful mood and he pushed himself up so he could look at his spent lover as he spoke with a sly grin, "You know what also tickles?"

"What?" Haruka questioned, deciding to humour his boyfriend after he had treated and pleased him so well.

Makoto's smile grew larger and he leaned down to blow a raspberry onto Haruka's stomach, making him burst out in laughter.

"Pffft, Makoto! Knock it out," he managed to get out between giggles and he helplessly kicked his legs.

He kept blowing for just a bit longer to tease him a little more but then Makoto pulled back and giggled as well. When he had caught his breath once more Haruka reached out to his face and pinched his nose gently in a joking punishment after which he cradled Makoto's cheek with his hand, smiling back at him. Makoto grabbed his wrist and turned his head to place a chaste kiss on his palm before he lowered his head again to kiss Haruka's toned abdomen in apology.

But after that one kiss followed another, and another, and soon he was leaving a trail of kisses all over his skin. Haruka weaved his fingers through Makoto's hair as he licked a stripe over Haruka's belly before sucking a patch of skin into his mouth and biting down on it lightly.

"Don't leave any marks."

Haruka's warning made Makoto pause and he let go of his skin and kissed it instead. Since they were swimmers they were always very careful about leaving hickeys for even if their relationship was a commonly known and accepted fact, they didn't want to deal with the embarrassment that would surely come if their friends saw either of them sporting a hickey. So from the start of their more intimate relationship, they'd had an unspoken agreement to never give each other hickeys or other types of marks that would last and not disappear immediately. It had never really been a problem before but this time, the hunger for the taste of Haruka's skin had not been satiated yet and he wasn't sure if he would be able to hold himself back if he continued, because a sudden desire to make visible marks on his lover's flawless skin welled up inside of him.

Makoto was a bit conflicted; he would never do anything without Haruka's consent and even if Haruka did give him permission, he wasn't quite ready to face the consequences of his actions and handle the teasing remarks and knowing looks they'd surely get, but he couldn't help that the craving was there. There was one solution to most of these problems that popped into his head, and he supposed it couldn't hurt to ask.

"What if I leave them where no one will be able to see them?" he proposed and he ran his fingers down Haruka's torso towards his legs, over his tan line. Haruka wasn't very tan yet, but the sun had kissed his skin enough to tell where his swimsuit had been; from just below the top of his hip bones to a little above his knees, his skin was visibly paler than the rest of his body. It clearly showed the exact amount of space Makoto could work with so as long as he stayed within the lines, nobody would see or even know of any marks except for the two of them. "You already wear your swimsuit during the day and we always stay behind after practice ends so even when changing there'll be no one except us."

For a second Haruka contemplated his suggestion. If he still didn't agree then Makoto would obviously just leave it at that, but the look on his face didn't indicate unwillingness. On the contrary, Makoto could actually detect hints of interest and even reawakening lust inside his bewitching eyes.

"Alright," Haruka simply said, confirming that Makoto had not lost his ability to read him like an open book, "But first…" He beckoned Makoto closer with a nod of his head and Makoto didn't need any more words to know what he wanted.

He lifted himself from Haruka's belly and crawled on top of him again like he had done earlier that evening and he captured his lover's smirking lips in a tender kiss. One of Haruka's hands came up to hold the back of Makoto's head and he threaded his fingers through Makoto's locks again while his other hand found its way down Makoto's spine and he squeezed his ass, wasting no time before he deepened the kiss. The urge to touch Haruka back surged through Makoto but alas he had to hold himself up on his forearms so his weight was not fully on his lover's smaller body. So instead, he just enjoyed Haruka's touch and greedily licked inside his mouth. He would have plenty of time to let his hands roam over every part of Haruka later.

Their tongues entwined in such a delightful way that they simultaneously moaned into the kiss. Things were quickly becoming heated again and although he didn't want to, Makoto ended their kiss because the desire to mark Haruka had not dwindled in the meanwhile. But it seemed like Haruka hadn't had his fill of Makoto's lips yet and he followed Makoto's mouth to capture them again. Because Haruka was allowing him to do what he wanted, he would fulfill his desires as well and he eagerly kissed him back. Not that he would ever object to kissing those enticing lips of his anyway.

Eventually Haruka released his hair and let his hand slide down Makoto's back, breaking their kiss so Makoto's lips could wander over his skin. Makoto read this reasoning in his eyes and he pressed a chaste kiss against his mouth in gratitude before he strayed to Haruka's neck and licked and sucked lightly at his throat, making sure not to leave a mark just yet.

Then he pushed himself off Haruka's body and sat down on his knees between his spread legs. He gently grabbed his right leg, put the tip of his tongue on the tan line of his inner thigh and dragged the flat of it over Haruka's leg up his pelvis and stopped at the other tan line, coaxing a pleased hum out of Haruka whose legs automatically opened even further to give Makoto more room.

The first patch of skin that caught Makoto's attention was between Haruka's hip bone and his dick - that was beginning to grow harder with arousal - and Makoto bit down on it softly, after which he sucked on it pretty harshly. His hands were stroking and squeezing Haruka's thighs, the feather-light touch sending a tingly feeling throughout his entire body. When Makoto let go of the skin a nice, red mark stared back at him and a smile of gratification lit up his face and he kissed it as a small form of apology for the pain he might have caused. But it didn't seem like it had hurt because Haruka reached out and tangled his fingers through his brown locks in the way he always did to encourage him, the simple movement telling him that he was not the only one who was enjoying this.

His hand drifted over the inside of Haruka's left thigh and he decided that would be the perfect spot for the second hickey. He hooked his hand under Haruka's knee to hold his leg in place as he mouthed at his flesh, nibbling at the meaty part of his thigh and Haruka faintly moaned his name. The sound of Haruka's voice sent a bolt of lust directly to Makoto's cock and he let out a slight groan as he sucked even harder than before at the skin between his teeth. When he realised that he was probably biting him too hard, he released the skin before sucking it into his mouth again, minus the teeth this time. A darker bruise was left on this spot and when Makoto kissed it Haruka whimpered lightly from sensitivity before tugging at Makoto's hair in an obvious plea for more.

Open-mouthed kisses were placed on Haruka's legs and pelvic area and Makoto altered between licking, sucking and biting, planting mark after mark to blossom on his skin and Haruka couldn't do anything but grasp at Makoto's locks and at the sheets beneath him while he moaned. Soon enough numerous red hickeys stood out against his pale skin that was shining with his saliva. Makoto was pretty satisfied.

Lowering his head back into Haruka's crotch, Makoto teasingly licked and sucked around the base of his hard dick and sac. While he was wondering if he could get Haruka to turn around so he could bite that cute butt of his, Haruka suddenly got up and pushed at his shoulder. It was so unexpected that Makoto didn't brace himself and was easily pushed down until his back hit the mattress.

"Enough of your teasing," Haruka said as he straddled Makoto's hips, sitting down on top of his pelvis so their erections rubbed together which resulted into Makoto letting out a low moan himself.

The sight of Haruka sitting on him, hard dick standing between his beautiful thighs full of bruises and bitemarks that he personally left there was so incredibly arousing that he could have come just from seeing him. Instantly he forgot about his desire to mark Haruka and completely surrendered himself to his lover. Whatever Haruka planned to do next didn't matter to Makoto, because he was already anticipating it.

A smirk lit up Haruka's red face and he grabbed Makoto's hands, that had unconsciously found their way to his thighs and he pinned his wrists to the mattress and leaned forward until his breath ghosted over Makoto's lips before he seductively spoke, "Ready for round two?"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Ever since receiving this prompt I've had this scenario for it in my head, but since I have already written a fic featuring hickeys in this collection, I was a little stumped on how to describe them since I didn't want it to sound too similar to the other fic. But on the other hand, I didn't want to describe it so vastly different that it sounds weird. Anyway, I just hope that it didn't sound too weird.**

 **As always you can find me on Tumblr and Twitter DatHeetJoella and feel free to hit me up about MakoHaru.**

 **Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed and I hope you have a wonderful day! ^^**


	9. Glasses

**Prompt:** **Haru trying on Makoto's glasses... and Makoto loving it! 3**

 **A/N: I loved this prompt and I really enjoyed writing it, so therefore I hope you'll enjoy reading it too.**

 **Rating: T**  
 **Word count: 2,545**

* * *

"Hey," Haruka called as he walked into Makoto's room, only to find him sitting on the floor with his nose in his books, "You're still studying?"

"Hey," Makoto greeted back and he tilted his head back to accept Haruka's chaste kiss. "Yeah, I want to get this chapter done today."

When Haruka looked over to the open book and recognised the page, a frown settled on his face. "You already studied this chapter."

"I know, but there's nothing wrong with a little extra revising."

Except there was. These past couple of weeks Makoto had done nothing but study every living moment he had the opportunity to in preparation for the entrance exams. Haruka knew that Makoto was extremely nervous and afraid to fail, especially since he had told him that he was going to Tokyo too. Before that he was motivated and dedicated as well, but it was even worse now he knew Haruka had accepted a swimming scholarship and would definitely be going to Tokyo so failure was not an option and he just had to be accepted into his university of choice and he couldn't do that if he didn't do well on his entrance exams.

Haruka understood that he was worried, but he honestly didn't need to be. If there was anyone who was well-prepared, it was Makoto and it was great that he was doing his best, but at this point he was basically just overworking himself. He spent hours in the library after school and apparently he just continued when he came home. Knowing Makoto, if this continued then he would be exhausted in no time and still wouldn't stop, and that way he wouldn't even absorb the information he was so obsessively studying, it would only cause him to forget more from fatigue.

"You already studied for hours, Makoto. Take a break."

"I will. I'll just finish this chapter first, alright?" Makoto said before he turned back to his textbook and notes, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

Then, Haruka was struck with an idea. If he couldn't persuade Makoto to stop by talking to him, then he just had to forcefully make him stop. In one swift movement Haruka plucked Makoto's glasses off his face and put them on himself before he climbed on top of Makoto's bed.

"Haru," Makoto whined, "Give them back."

"No."

"At least let me finish this page."

"Nope," Haruka refused and he lied down on his back.

"Haru," Makoto sighed deeply as he crawled on his bed as well and hovered over Haruka, who raised his hands towards his face and protectively held the glasses so Makoto wouldn't be able to take them off. If he really wanted to, Makoto could take them away by force but Haruka knew that Makoto would never risk hurting him.

"There are two ways you can get them back," Haruka teased and he raised one finger. "One, you cuddle with me for two hours." He added his middle finger. "Or two, you give me a thousand kisses."

When Makoto was spending so many hours studying, there wasn't much of the day left for them to spend some quality time together. It couldn't be helped since it was important for his future, but Haruka missed his affection. It was selfish because Haruka didn't have to worry about his exams like Makoto did because of his scholarship, but he couldn't help that he felt the way he did. He knew Makoto loved him and that would never change regardless of how busy he was, but he just craved his touch and his kisses and he just wanted to feel his arms around him, holding him tight. That wasn't that odd, was it?

"A _thousand_?" Makoto asked sceptically.

"A thousand," Haruka confirmed, not breaking his serious tone and keeping his stoic face.

A fond smile stretched Makoto's lips that told him that he understood what Haruka was trying to do. He softly stroked Haruka's cheek with his thumb in a way that told Haruka that he missed him too. But then his smile turned into a smirk and Haruka could see a mischievous little glint in his gorgeous eyes.

"I pick number three," Makoto said with a nod, trying to sound solemn but he had a hard time suppressing his smile.

"Number three?"

Makoto nodded before he elaborated, "Both." There wasn't much time for Haruka to process his words before he continued, "I'll start with the kisses, alright? One." He pressed a quick kiss to Haruka's lips, "Two." And another kiss to his cheek, "Three." and one to his nose, "Four." and another one to his forehead.

"Makoto!" Haruka giggled in protest to the ticklish sensation of Makoto's lips dropping rapid and light kisses onto his skin.

The sound of Haruka's beautiful laughter only spurred him on and he kept counting as he kissed every part of Haruka's face. "Twenty-four." Kiss. "Twenty-five." Kiss. "Twenty-six." Kiss.

"Makoto!"

"Oh," Makoto mumbled as he pulled away, "I've lost count. Now I have to start over, I guess." He shrugged before he leaned down again and continued giving him kisses, "One."

Although he couldn't stop giggling nor catch his breath, Haruka couldn't deny that he was really enjoying the attention Makoto was showering him in. At least, that was what he thought; he immediately changed his mind when in addition to his kisses Makoto started to tickle him as well. His soft giggles turned into loud laughter and he did his best to swat Makoto's arms away from his sides. "Makoto, stop!"

It appeared to be his lucky day because Makoto did as he had been told and he pulled away again to let him catch his breath, and he chuckled softly before he caressed Haruka's face again in apology to his playfulness.

Haruka opened his eyes and he looked up at Makoto's blurry image and he was vaguely able to make out his smile before Makoto leaned down again and gently kissed him and automatically Haruka's eyes fell shut as he kissed back. The kiss was tender and deep, one like they shared countless times before but it still filled Haruka with happiness and it made his belly tingle with love and adoration. In that sense it was like every kiss was their first, for they were always meaningful and special in their own way and Haruka had missed the feeling of Makoto's soft lips kissing him like this. He wrapped his arms around Makoto's neck and threaded his fingers through his hair and Makoto hummed in delight.

Eventually their kiss ended and they shared some shorter ones instead. Then Makoto nuzzled their noses together and he sighed, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Haruka murmured back, "more than anything."

Makoto couldn't stop himself from pressing another kiss to Haruka's mouth. "You're so beautiful, Haru," Makoto complimented as he ran his thumb over his wet lips, "You look really good in glasses."

"So if I wasn't wearing your glasses then I wouldn't be beautiful?" Haruka teasingly asked, trying to sound serious but it wasn't really working.

"You are always beautiful, Haru. Always," Makoto said earnestly despite knowing that Haruka was just joking. "It's just… the glasses really fit you."

It wasn't like Haruka didn't understand Makoto's sudden captivation because this was the first time he had ever worn his glasses in front of him. He clearly remembered the first time he saw Makoto wearing glasses and looking back on it, he knew he had fallen in love with him all over again at that moment. And even now his heart still jumped inside his chest whenever he saw Makoto in his glasses; it wasn't so much that he looked better with them than without them, it was just different, a different type of handsome and Haruka always allowed himself to enjoy both wonderful sights. So he could very well imagine that Makoto was feeling the same way right now.

"I would tell you that you're beautiful too," Haruka stated, "but I can't really see anything right now."

Makoto chuckled at that. "Well, you already know what I look like anyway. But really, you should see yourself right now."

"That's kind of impossible considering that I can't see anything clearly while wearing them."

"Of course it's not," Makoto argued and he pushed himself up so he was sitting on his knees and he reached out to grab his phone from the table. He slid it open and fumbled with the buttons before he pointed it at Haruka's face.

To humour him, Haruka smiled softly as Makoto took a picture of his bespectacled face.

"Here," Makoto offered and he showed Haruka the screen of his phone.

Haruka tipped the glasses up so they were resting on his forehead and he blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to being able to see properly again before he looked at the photo. "Ah," was all that he said, not knowing what else to say. Then he reached out to take Makoto's phone and Makoto gave it to him without much thought.

"What are you doing?" he asked not out of worry, but with genuine curiosity.

"Deleting the photo."

"What? No! Haru," Makoto objected and he tried to take the phone back from him but Haruka held it out of his reach, slipping the glasses back onto his nose. "Please don't delete it, it's cute!" Makoto pleaded as he made another attempt at grabbing his phone. If he really wanted to, then Makoto would easily be able to take the phone back but once again, Haruka knew that he would never use physical strength against him. "I promise I won't show anyone!"

For a moment Haruka paused to contemplate his decision. Personally, he really loved seeing Makoto in his glasses and he was lucky to witness it quite often, especially lately when he was studying so much. But he never wore glasses himself so Makoto was never able to enjoy the sight except for this rare occasion. The thought of never seeing Makoto in his glasses again was a little disappointing to Haruka and while that would never happen, the chances of Makoto seeing him in glasses again were much, much lower. The least he could do was let him have that one picture.

"Fine," Haruka sighed as he stopped resisting, allowing Makoto to take the phone out of his hands.

"Yes," Makoto cheered in triumph, "Thank you, Haru-chan." To express his gratitude even further, he bent down to kiss him again.

"Drop," Haruka mumbled in-between kisses, "the '-chan'."

"Sorry, sorry!"

The way Makoto giggled softly told Haruka that he hadn't really meant it, though that didn't matter to him. He had missed these playful, carefree moments and it wouldn't be complete without Makoto calling him '-chan'.

"Seriously though, they do look really good on you."

Makoto had said this so many times already and that proved just how much he truly enjoyed the look on him; the way they framed his beautiful blue eyes brought even more attention to them than usually and Makoto felt like he could get lost in them forever.

"You look really good with them too," Haruka genuinely thought, "Too bad I have perfect eyesight."

"Honestly, I'm glad that you have perfect sight," Makoto muttered, "Even if they do look really good on you."

"Might have to look into some fake ones, then," Haruka joked and Makoto laughed lightly before fondly shaking his head.

"Anyway, regardless of how much I love them on you, I think it would be better if you took them off now. Otherwise they might give you a headache or actually ruin your perfect sight."

With a nod of agreement Haruka raised his hands to his face to take them off, but then he suddenly remembered why he was wearing them in the first place. Sceptically he looked up at Makoto and even though he couldn't clearly see his eyes, Makoto still understood what he was thinking.

"I'm taking a break," he assured, "I promised, right?"

"Yeah," Haruka said and he took the glasses off and gave them back to Makoto. Despite his dedication to his studying, Haruka knew Makoto would never consciously break a promise and he trusted him more than anyone. Like he had expected, Makoto bent the temples and put the glasses back on the table.

"Sorry I've been studying so much lately," he suddenly mumbled, sincerely sounding apologetic this time.

"It's alright, I understand."

"It's just…" he continued, "The university will receive so many applicants from all over the country and I just don't want to fail, so I have to make myself stand out from the crowd somehow. Unlike many other students, I'm really average and therefore I have to work even harder to even get the chance to get accepted. If I don't do well on these exams-"

"Makoto," Haruka interrupted and he cupped his face with his hands so he had to look at him, "You're wrong; you are anything but average. You're smart and dedicated and determined and if there's anyone who's going to do well on these tests, it's you. Because you're working harder than most others and you have the intellect for it so there's no way you're going to fail. There's only one thing you lack and that's confidence. Have a little more faith in yourself because you're amazing and if there's anyone who can accomplish their dreams, it's you."

The heartfelt and honest words had startled Makoto a little and he looked surprised for a second before he smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Haru. I just can't help but be worried about it."

"It's okay to be worried," Haruka said and he softly rubbed Makoto's jaw, "It's only natural that you worry about your education and future and there's nothing wrong with that, per se. You just need to take a break sometimes, because it isn't like studying every minute of every day will help you out. You deserve to relax."

"You're right, it's just a little hard sometimes," Makoto admitted.

"I know, that's why I'll be here to steal your glasses when necessary."

"Thank you, Haru," Makoto repeated before his gentle smile stretched even further. "Speaking of which, I think I still owe you two hours of cuddling and approximately 950 kisses."

Haruka snorted and he opened his arms in a silent invitation and Makoto didn't need to be asked twice. Their lips met in another loving kiss as their bodies found each other and held the other close. Makoto turned them so they were lying on their sides so that he wouldn't accidentally hurt Haruka with his weight. He ran his hand slowly over Haruka's back as their tongues entwined. There was no rush in the kiss, it was simply a mutual desire to feel each other without any other motive.

When their lips finally parted again after sharing numerous slow and tender kisses, Haruka buried his face in Makoto's neck and Makoto pulled him even closer against himself, nuzzling his hair before pressing a kiss against his black locks.

There would be many instances in the future that would require their worry and concern, but for now they felt nothing but the warmth, comfort, and safety of the other's embrace.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! ^^**

 **This kind of ran away from me in terms of the prompt but I can't help it, whenever I write these type of scenarios it always ends up in them kissing and cuddling and giggling and I'm not even mad because I love it.**

 **Come chat with me about MakoHaru on Tumblr or Twitter DatHeetJoella**

 **I hope you'll have a wonderful day and that I'll see you again next time!**


	10. One Hand

**A/N: Happy Birthday Schnooglepuffs! I hope you're having a wonderful birthday and I wish you a fantastic year. This fic is my little gift to you, so I hope you like it! :)**

 **The idea I had for this fic gave me the perfect opportunity to combine two of the fic prompts I got earlier, so I hope that the people who sent me this back then will be able to read this, and I hope they'll like it too. Of course, I hope everyone else enjoys this little fic as well!**

 **Rating: M**

 **Word count: 3,945**

 **I hope you enjoy! ^^**

* * *

Third lap, finish line in sight, currently in first place.

The odds were rarely in his favour, but despite it all, it seemed like Haruka would come out on top this time. His lead wasn't big, it never was, but he was so close that next to nothing could take away his win now. Spurred on by the hint of sweet, sweet victory that he could almost taste, Haruka leaned forward and held down the acceleration button harder like that would somehow make Daisy's bike move even faster.

This was it. Nothing could stop him now.

Except for a blue shell, that hit Daisy right before the finish, _of course_. And for the umpteenth time that night, the tune that signalled that the race had been won rang out, along with Luigi's overly familiar and frankly annoying cheering.

The CPUs were far enough behind them for him to finish second, but he didn't care about that at all because Makoto had come in first yet again.

"Yes."

Makoto's own soft cry of triumph was much smaller and far more endearing than his character's, but it didn't make Haruka feel any better. He liked to think that he usually wasn't a sore loser, but after such a good race and being so close to winning, the fact that he was sabotaged in the last second by a _blue shell_ of all things irked him to no end. Why did those stupid things even exist?

Defeated in every sense of the word, Haruka loosened his wrist strap and put his controller down on the table with a huff. "I hate Shy Guy Beach."

"No you don't; you picked it," Makoto disputed, "You just hate blue shells."

Makoto was right. Shy Guy Beach was actually one of his best tracks, like all the other tracks that involved water in one way or another. Haruka had all the ingredients to success: the fastest character, the best vehicle, one of his favourite tracks that also happened to be one of Makoto's worst. The stars were aligned, yet the universe decided that none of it mattered and cursed him with a blue shell to lead Makoto to victory yet again.

He was done. He wasn't a sore loser, he told himself once more, but playing like this just wasn't fun.

"Well, except when they hit me," Makoto added as an afterthought, snorting lightly.

"They never hit you right before the finish line," Haruka grumbled, and much to his dismay, Makoto chuckled at his grouchiness.

"I guess I'm just lucky."

"This has nothing to do with luck." No, Makoto was just so much better than him. It wasn't like blue shells didn't generate when Makoto was in the lead and near the finish, but he always managed to get a small drift boost so that it wouldn't hit him until he had already won.

"It does," Makoto insisted, "We both know you should have actually won that race, and you would have if it weren't for that blue shell."

Even when it came to things as trivial as this, Makoto's gentle soul always wanted to console him. As nice as it was of him, Haruka didn't really need his solace right now. "And yet blue shells are a part of the game, so you won fair and square," Haruka concluded, doing his best to push these silly feelings aside, for it truly was just a game. A game that Makoto was infinitely better at.

A tender smile softened Makoto's handsome features. "It's not entirely fair, since I've had a lot more practice over the years than you had."

His words held a point of truth, but that wasn't all there was to it. While Makoto might have played this game more often than Haruka had, they had played together frequently enough for Haruka to be familiar with the mechanics and gameplay too; fact was that even if he practiced for hours every single day, he probably still wouldn't become as good at it as Makoto. And dedicating that much time to a video game just so that he could beat his boyfriend simply wasn't worth it. There were better ways to spend his free time, with said boyfriend for example.

The only other option was playing dirty, which he didn't like to resort to because Makoto never played dirty either. He would use all the items the game provided him with as strategically as possible, but he never purposely bumped Haruka off the road or into an obstacle. If that was the only way he could win, then Haruka would rather not win at all.

Not wanting him to sulk over a blue shell for too long, Makoto grabbed Haruka's controller and offered it to him. "Ready for a rematch?" he asked with a playful grin.

"And ruin your winning streak? I'd rather not."

"Oh come on, show those blue shells what you're made of," Makoto said as he teasingly nudged Haruka's chest with the Wii remote. "You can pick the course. Which one do you want? Koopa Cape?"

Despite everything, Haruka couldn't suppress a tiny smile at Makoto's efforts. It was just a game, he reminded himself, a fun activity to do together with his boyfriend. Right now, it was like Makoto was the only one who was having fun, so that had to change, hadn't it?

"I'll play some more," Haruka started, smirk fighting its way onto his face as he accepted the controller, "on one condition."

"And that is?"

"You get a handicap."

Never one to back down from a challenge, Makoto agreed without protest. "Alright," he replied, amusement playing at his lips as he pondered about what this handicap could be, "What is it? You get a five second head-start? I can't use items?"

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't quite what Haruka had in mind. His suggestions were good, but not good enough. That would be far too easy. "You can only use one hand."

Upon processing that request, Makoto's eyebrows twisted into a cute frown of confusion. "What?"

"You heard me," Haruka said as he bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snorting at Makoto's adorable expression. "One hand."

"That's impossible! How am I even going to hold the remote?"

"I don't know, figure something out." His hands were pretty large so it shouldn't be too hard to hold it and press all the buttons, but he could also try to use his face or perhaps even his feet. Haruka might not have had much fun playing, but he was definitely going to enjoy watching Makoto struggle.

The incredulity that was painted on Makoto's face morphed into a sly grin when he read Haruka's true motivation in his eyes. "It's impossible for me to play Mario Kart with one hand," he muttered, his voice low and sultry, "but there's one game I'm great at, even with only one hand."

That tone didn't predict any good, and paired with the piercing gaze he was subjecting Haruka to, it was downright dangerous. Haruka swallowed thickly and braced himself for the worst as Makoto loomed closer.

"Want to know what this game is?" he questioned as he slipped the strap of his Wii remote off his wrist and put it on the table.

"No thanks. I can imagine," Haruka muttered as he leaned back further out of Makoto's way, discarding his remote as well - whatever Makoto was planning, he would probably need both hands to defend himself. He knew Makoto loved him with all his heart, but when it came to games, he was ruthless.

"Oh come on," Makoto said again, but it was far more taunting and alarming now. He raised his right hand in the air and wiggled his fingers menacingly.

There it was. Haruka hadn't expected his plan to backfire like this, but he wasn't about to fall victim to his own curse. He wouldn't surrender himself to Makoto without a battle.

In one swift motion, Makoto brought his hand down to Haruka's abdomen but Haruka was faster and dodged him. His back hit the floor, and while he might have survived his first attack, he had brought himself into a rather compromising position, that Makoto could easily exploit; as long as he only used one hand, any other body part was fair game and he could simply use his weight to pin him down.

Haruka had to think fast, and he brought his knees to his chest to give himself two more weapons. He planted his socked feet against Makoto's pecs while Makoto swooped down in an attempt to tickle him. The tips of his fingers grazed over Haruka's side, but it would take more than that to coax laughter out of him. He pushed Makoto back, but while he was able to increase the distance between their bodies, it took a great deal of power and his legs began to quiver under Makoto's weight.

"What, did you want to reenact Nagisa and Rei's video?" Makoto questioned innocently, raising his upturned eyebrows in feigned surprise.

The mention of that video gave Haruka mental images that were pretty funny, but he had to pull through. He couldn't huff or laugh or else his grip might falter, and that was exactly what Makoto wanted. He wouldn't fall for Makoto's trap.

When Haruka didn't waver, Makoto simply shrugged. "Alright," he complied as he relaxed the muscles of his torso and pressed back against Haruka's feet to make it even heavier for him. "If that's what you want."

Haruka clicked his tongue and gritted his teeth as he did his best to hold on for just a tad longer. His legs were strong and he knew how to use them properly, to push off the wall and propel his body forward through the water, but now they were met with far more resistance. If so desired, Makoto could effortlessly shove his legs out of the way to get to his target immediately, but the fact that he wasn't meant that he enjoyed their current position a little too much. To slowly wear out Haruka's strength, so that his victory would be that much sweeter. Makoto truly was a monster when it came to games.

Though Haruka loved everything about Makoto's body, he couldn't deny that their size difference made things more difficult for him in situations like these. When it came to sheer power, Haruka could never win from Makoto, but their size difference wasn't all bad; he should always try to find a way to turn his weaknesses into strength. Makoto might have had his bulk, but Haruka was far more agile and supple than he was, and he could definitely use that to his advantage now.

So with Makoto's chest as leverage, he pushed himself away from him like he was the edge of the pool and he clambered backwards on his hands. Makoto instinctively caught one of his ankles to prevent him from escaping. Coincidentally, this happened to not only keep Haruka close, but it simultaneously provided him access to one of the best tickling-spots. Winning this game would be a piece of cake like this.

"Uh-uh!" Haruka yelled, feeling like his dear boyfriend could use a reminder of the rules of this particular game, " _One_ hand."

Realising his mistake, Makoto released his hold and Haruka didn't waste any time before he backed up further, wanting to crawl around the coffee table to use it as a shield.

Alas, Haruka might have been more nimble, but Makoto was still faster than him. He reclaimed his grip on Haruka's ankle and tugged him downwards so his back was on the floor again. Then he instantly let go in favour of wiggling his fingers threateningly as he slowly lowered his hand towards Haruka's belly.

Pure amusement and glee twinkled in Makoto's gorgeous eyes, but Haruka wouldn't let that mesmerizing gaze enchant and distract him. Biting his lip to repress a giddy smile, Haruka aimed his foot at the edge of Makoto's shoulder in the hopes of knocking him off his balance so he could push himself up once more.

This wasn't what Haruka had in mind at all when he proposed for Makoto to have a handicap, but in one way or another, his goal was still accomplished; he was having a ton of fun, messing around with Makoto like this, probably more than he should have. It was alright, though, because Makoto was emitting nothing but joy as well.

While the kick to his shoulder did surprise Makoto and gave Haruka enough time to sit up, it also gave Makoto the upper hand in the fight. He simply shoved Haruka's leg away with the back of his forearm and inched closer so he was between Haruka's legs. With his back to the table and Makoto hovering over him, there was nowhere for Haruka to run.

"Checkmate, Haru-chan," Makoto murmured in a honeysweet and almost seductive voice. And then, without a second of hesitation, he began to mercilessly tickle Haruka.

Haruka took a deep breath and tensed his abs, wanting to hold out for as long as possible. Swatting Makoto's hand away wasn't quite effective when it seemed like Makoto's fingers teleported from one spot on his body to the next, like he was tickling him everywhere at once. He tried to roll from one side to the other, but covering up one area only meant exposing another, so that didn't help his case either. Makoto was right about this too; even with one hand, he was a tickling-master - Haruka wasn't sure if he should blame this on Ran and Ren, or pity them for it.

At last, he could no longer avoid the inevitable. A soft snort broke out of the back of his throat, and it was soon followed by loud laughter.

A triumphant grin stretched Makoto's cheeks upon hearing Haruka's defeat; his laughter was a sound that always made Makoto smile because of its beauty, but the reason behind it made it even better this time.

"I told you-" Haruka managed to get out between giggles, "to stop with the -chan!"

"What's that, Haru- _chan_?"

Makoto was enjoying this a bit too much for Haruka's liking. He was going to get back at him for this, but first he had to get himself out of this situation. Tears were welling up in his eyes, and that was a sign that this had gone on for far too long already.

So Haruka began to squirm wildly, using all of his limbs to fight back against this agonising torture. He jerked backwards as his attempts to kick Makoto away from him were in vain. A hollow thud sounded out as Haruka hit the back of his head on the wooden surface of the table.

"Ow!" he groaned as he clutched his head in his palms, curling up into himself as pain spread through his skull in dull shocks.

Instantly Makoto withdrew his hand and the mischievous grin was wiped off his face to be replaced with genuine concern. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

"No," Haruka scoffed in annoyance.

"I'm so sorry," Makoto repeated, and unlike all the times he apologised for adding '-chan' to his name, this time it was filled with sincere remorse. "Let me see," he murmured as he pried Haruka's hands away to check the damage.

Although his mood had dropped considerably, Haruka allowed Makoto to do as he pleased.

"I can't see anything, but it's probably going to be a bump," Makoto muttered as he lightly ran his fingers through his black locks and over his scalp. Then he leaned in and pressed a series of soft kisses against the offended area.

"I'm not five years old, Makoto," Haruka sneered in response, "you can't kiss it better." His head already hurt enough from hitting it, and Makoto buzzing around him like this certainly wasn't helping.

"I know! I just… I'm sorry," Makoto sighed as he pulled back, "I just wanted to tease you a little, but I never meant for you to get hurt. Sorry."

Regret immediately flooded Haruka's senses when he peered up at Makoto. He looked like a lost, forsaken puppy with large sad eyes and his tail between his legs, which made Haruka the owner who had abandoned him. Of course it was never Makoto's intention for him to get hurt, and yet here he was acting like he did it on purpose.

"I know," Haruka said, voice a lot gentler now, "I'm sorry too."

"You don't have to apologise. It's my fault: if I hadn't started to tickle you then-"

"It's not your fault," Haruka interrupted as he grabbed his hand, "If anyone is to blame, it's me, cause I started it. There was no reason for me to lash out to you like that when you only meant well. So I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Makoto assured, "It was a normal reaction. It hurts a lot, doesn't it?" With his free hand, Makoto reached down to Haruka's face to catch a stray tear that was gliding over his cheek.

"Oh, this is not from that," Haruka mumbled as he lifted his own hand to wipe his cheeks. "It's from earlier."

"Still," Makoto insisted as he carded his hand through Haruka's hair again, over his soon-to-be bruise, "I'll get you some aspirin."

He was about to get up to do as he promised, but Haruka pulled him back to the floor. Releasing his hand, Haruka grasped the collar of Makoto's shirt with both hands, tugging him down to meet his lips. The kiss was chaste, but it expressed both gratitude and amends, and of course the love that was ever-present between them.

After a moment he ended their kiss to look at Makoto's face. "It's fine," he murmured, and he let go of Makoto's shirt in favour of wrapping his arms around Makoto's neck, "It doesn't hurt that much; the pain is already fading."

"I'm glad," Makoto said, knowing that Haruka was being honest, "It sounded so painful and I felt so bad, it really wasn't my intention to-"

Having had enough of Makoto's rambled apologies, Haruka cut him off by yanking him down into another kiss. A small noise of astonishment slipped out of Makoto's throat before he melted against Haruka's lips. He reached down to cup Haruka's cheeks as Haruka deepened the kiss. It might have come as a surprise, but Haruka knew Makoto would never object to indulging himself in his affection.

When their lips parted, Makoto gazed down into the ocean of Haruka's irises and gently nuzzled his nose with his. Of all the ways to express his feelings, this was certainly the most adorable one and it never failed to make Haruka smile in fondness.

"I was wrong," he whispered, maintaining their eye-contact as he tangled his fingers in the strands of hair at the base of Makoto's neck, "Maybe you can actually kiss it better."

Makoto smiled at that. "Well, it doesn't hurt to try," he reasoned with an excited grin, and he didn't waste another second before leaning in for another deep and sensual kiss.

A familiar fire was ignited in Haruka's lower belly. As the minutes ticked by and their lips met again and again, it began to burn brighter and Haruka ran his hands over Makoto's back, under his shirt in a need to feel his bare skin.

Judging by the careful roughness that slipped into Makoto's kisses and the way his hands began to roam over his torso, Haruka could tell that the hunger he felt was very much shared. His breathing got heavier and his heartbeat accelerated as he tried to pull Makoto's body closer, so no more distance would separate them.

Contrary to what he wanted, Makoto broke the passionate kiss. Haruka wanted to complain, but before he could get a single word out, he was captivated by the lust that was swimming in Makoto's eyes. That gorgeous green told him that the desire for more was entirely mutual, yet Makoto wasn't one to rush into anything and liked to drag some things out a little. Good things take time, was what he would say, and depending on Haruka's particular mood, this could both be a blessing and a curse.

This time, it appeared to be a blessing. "Besides kissing it better," he started, slowly stroking his fingertips over Haruka's side. The touch was so light that it made goosebumps erupt and his skin tingled in the wake of Makoto's blunt nails. Haruka held his breath as he waited for Makoto to continue. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

The husky tone of his beautiful voice sounded like pure sex to Haruka's ears and hearing that low whisper made him even more aroused. Now this was a game he wouldn't mind delving deeper into.

"You know, I've heard that orgasms are a great painkiller," Haruka stated, biting his bottom lip in anticipation because he knew Makoto liked that while he gently circled his thumb around Makoto's nipple, "But first, please turn off the Wii." Without Makoto's touch and kisses to drown out all white noise, the music was really getting annoying. It wasn't quite suitable background music for what was about to go down, and he'd rather not have the mood be ruined halfway through by the memory of blue shells coming to haunt him.

Makoto did as he was told right away. Within an instance of pressing the button, the music died out and the room fell silent, with the exception of their breathing and their hearts beating in sync.

"You know," Makoto said, sitting up between Haruka's legs while he ran his hands over Haruka's thighs, "I happen to know this game that doesn't require any hands."

Haruka definitely liked where this was going. "And, are you good at this game?"

"I think I am…" Makoto leaned closer until his mouth was only an inch away from Haruka's. "But why don't you be the judge of that."

Oh, Haruka was more than familiar with this game, and he took pride in the fact that he was the only one in the entire universe who could confirm that yes, Makoto was _excellent_ at it. Probably even better than at Mario Kart - and he knew that this game was infinitely more fun. "Gladly."

That was all the permission Makoto needed before he closed the distance between them in a fervent kiss. Haruka's hands wandered over his torso and found their way to Makoto's ass. Using his grip for leverage, he thrust his hips against Makoto's in search for friction and to encourage him.

Makoto's mouth strayed from his lips to Haruka's neck, kissing and sucking at all of Haruka's most sensitive spots, lightly to not leave any marks yet prominent enough to make Haruka yearn for more. His hands trailed over Haruka's body once more, fingers seeking the hem of his pyjama pants to uncover Haruka's growing erection.

"Hey," Haruka panted, calling Makoto to attention and making him cease his endeavors. "I thought you said you could play this game with no hands."

The only response Makoto gave was a lustful grin before he moved his hands to caress Haruka's thighs again. Then he lowered his head to Haruka's crotch and sank his teeth into the hem, looking Haruka straight into the eyes as he pulled his pants down with his mouth.

The game had only just begun, but Haruka already knew that this was going to be his favourite game of the entire night.

Perhaps blue shells weren't so bad after all; not when they could lead to this.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! ^^**

 **In case anyone didn't get the reference, "Nagisa and Rei's video" refers to the video Nagisa sent to Makoto in TYM.**

 **As always, you can find me over on Tumblr, Twitter and Curious Cat DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content in-between fic posts.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading, I hope to see you again at my next post and for now, I wish you all a lovely day! ^^**


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